


on land, off land (didn't expect that)

by autistic_nightfury



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Autism, Awkward Flirting, Bad Jokes, Body Dysphoria, Day At The Beach, Dresses, ETA: I DO NOT CONSENT FOR MY WORKS TO BE TAKEN FROM AO3 AND UPLOADED TO ANY OTHER APPS/SITES, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Gay Panic, I Don't Even Know, Interspecies Sex, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pastries, Picnics, Sexual Tension, Trans Male Character, Transformation, Transphobia, Water Powers, Wheelchairs, autistic!Seungmin, cause merfucking, i think that is it...
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2020-01-29
Packaged: 2020-08-19 03:43:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20203153
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/autistic_nightfury/pseuds/autistic_nightfury
Summary: “What the fuck?” He pressed himself against the rock wall, staring at the person next to him. Where there should have been legs, there was a long, blue and white tail. It glittered in the sparse light, but it also glowed, like those fishes he had always thought were simultaneously weird and cool. It had a number of feathery fins covering a third of it, flaring occasionally. But when he raised his gaze to the person’s face he felt like he was drowning again. Plump, purple tinted lips. Almond shaped, monolid eyes, a bioluminescent colour so blue that he felt like he was still high from earlier in the day. They had a strong bone structure, with scales scattered across their fair cheekbones and jaw.“Stop staring, I just saved your life. You should be a bit more polite.” Woojin opened and closed his mouth a few times, probably looking like a fish.“I uh - thanks? I-I guess?” He cleared his throat and grimaced; he could still feel the taste of bile in the back of his throat. “I’m sorry, it’s kind of hard to wrap my head around uh… That.” He gestured vaguely to the tail, and then squealed when the merperson flopped it up in the space between them.





	1. The Little Mermaid Was Wrong

**Author's Note:**

> im baaaaaaaaack with the new and improved ololdet (an amazing acronym if u ask me) theres a plot now!! its not just a one shot that ran away from me anymore! and its also *gasp* rated explicit. the reason for that is that there will be explicit sex scenes, and the general tone will shift a little bit? there will be some angsty parts too, and trust me, there is no shortage of it in their backstories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As he prepared for the day, taking down chairs and placing out napkin holders, his mind wandered to Chan.
> 
> He had assumed that they wouldn’t have met again. How many opportunities do you get to meet the same merman twice? So when said merman walked into the café around 11:30, wearing bathing shorts and a tank top, he didn’t know how to react. So he did what usually worked in awkward situations.
> 
> He hid under the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright alright alright folks, im back. this first chapter hasnt changed plot wise but its been edited a little

Based on the facts and circumstances, Woojin should be dead. He should have drowned ten minutes ago, his body to wash up later on a beach and traumatize people. But somehow he was still swimming, contrary to the fatigue still weighing him down; it was like someone else was holding him up. He coughed, the salt water stinging in his throat. He could see the beach, a white ribbon dotted with people. 

He felt delirious, head aching from swallowed salt water and the sun beating down on his brow. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t react when he felt webbed hands grabbing onto his cotton sweater, when he had his arms maneuvered to wrap around someone’s neck. It might also have something to do with that he never really had big reactions to things; he’d been told that it made him a good person to confess things to. Not that it mattered much now, when he was on the verge of drowning.

A sudden coolness washed over his face, and he realised that he was out of the sun’s merciless rays, a large rock formation towering over him. He didn’t realise he had blacked out until he came back, staring up at the ceiling of a cave. Nausea lurked in his stomach and h e rolled over onto his side and let the vomit go, coughing and wheezing at the foul taste and the burn in the back of his throat. 

“ **Ew.** ” The comment seemed to echo in his head, and he looked up in confusion, nearly jumping out of his skin when he saw a very mermaid like creature sitting casually next to him.

“What the fuck?” He pressed himself against the rock wall, staring at the person next to him. Where there should have been legs, there was a long, blue and white tail. It glittered in the sparse light, but it also glowed, like those fishes he  had  always thought were simultaneously weird and cool. It had a number of feathery fins covering a third of it, flaring occasionally. But when he raised his gaze to the person’s face he felt like he was drowning again. Plump, purple tinted lips. Almond shaped, monolid eyes, a bioluminescent colour so blue that he felt like he was still high from earlier in the day. They had a strong bone structure, with scales scattered across their fair cheekbones and jaw.

“Stop staring, I just saved your life. You should be a bit more polite.” Woojin opened and closed his mouth a few times, probably looking like a fish.

“I uh - thanks? I-I guess?” He cleared his throat and grimaced; he could still feel the taste of bile in the back of his throat. “I’m sorry, it’s kind of hard to wrap my head around uh… That.” He gestured vaguely to the tail, and then squealed when the merperson flopped it up in the space between them.

“What? Never seen a merman before?” They teased, flaring the fins fully.

“Uh, no?” It came out more like a question, but it was enough to stop the motions of the merman next to him. Their reaction confused him even more.

“They lied to me! Those little-” They seemed to notice his confused reaction, and opted to staple their finger tips together instead of continuing their rant. “Sorry, I have rude friends.”

“You and me both, bud.” Woojin chuckled under his breath, feeling slightly less freaked out.

“Yeah uh… Hi. I’m Chan.” They stretched out their hand, and Woojin studied it for a few seconds before grasping it firmly. It felt a bit like holding onto a fish, but less slimy.

“Woojin, he pronouns please.” He nearly regretted mentioning the pronouns when Chan cocked an eyebrow at him, but then let out a breath of relief.

“Oh uh, he for me too. Didn’t know humans weren’t uh, better with that?” Now it was Woojin’s turn to raise an eyebrow.

“Better with what?” Chan gestured vaguely in front of him.

“Y’know, gender and pronouns. Merfolk have a jewelry system for it.” Woojin’s other eyebrow raised too.

“Jewelry?” Chan nodded and pointed  to the choker around his neck; a small pearl in the middle, partnered with two shark teeth on each side.

“This means person with he prounouns-” he pointed at the teeth, and then let his finger slide to the pearl “-and this means a person in a high position in society.” 

“Wow. No, you merfolk seem to be way better than us actually.” He coughed again, cradling his side, and then a realisation dawned on him. He scrambled to get his shirt off, but stopped, glancing in uncerntainty at Chan. The merman seemed to notice his discomfort.

“Do you want me to turn away?” Woojin nodded, and Chan quickly turned around, as quick as you can with a one and a half meter long tail. He pulled off his sweater, cringing at the way it stuck to his skin. He rolled it up and put it safely next to him and then attempted to get his binder off. Keyword being attempted. He huffed in frustration, not being able to get the garment further up than half way up his chest. His arms were stuck in an awkward position over his head, not being able to grasp the hems properly. He could feel the way his breath hitched in his throat, worse than normal with the pressure from the binder. He fought a few seconds before accepting his defeat.

“Can you help me? I’m kind of stuck.” He heard Chan turn around behind him, a soft gasp before he felt webbed fingers on his ribs, sliding under the garment to get it off. He fought back a sob, feeling the dysphoria churning in his gut. When Chan had pulled the binder off he immediately went for his shirt, desperate to pull it on again.

“Woah, sorry? Did I do something wrong?” Woojin shook his head, tentatively putting a hand over Chan’s, which were still holding the binder.

“I generally don’t like taking my binder off in front of others.” 

“Is that what this is? What is it for?” Woojin took the garment, folding it up and holding it in his lap. It was a year old now, his most loved and used piece of clothing.

“It’s for binding down peoples’ chest, if they want a flatter appearance.” 

“Is that a big deal for humans?” 

“Well, I don’t know what it’s like for merpeople, but humans divide each other into gendered groups based on their bodies.” Chan let out what seemed to be an offended gasp.

“But that’s so rude! You shouldn’t just assume things like that!” Woojin laughed, feeling the way it scratched through his throat.

“Yeah, that’s what me and other trans people say, but that’s how things are right now.” The confused look returned to Chan’s eyes.

“Uh, what does ‘trans’ mean in this context?” 

“You don’t know what that means?” The merman shook his head. “Is there only cis merpeople?” That just made him more confused.

“Cis? Cis what? I know what the prefixes mean but not in the context of gender.” 

“What?” Woojin’s voice cracked uncomfortably, but he tried to shrug it off. “You don’t have assigned genders?”

“No? Why would we have that?”

“Well, many human cultures have two binary genders, divided between people with uh, different genitals.” The merman’s eyes looked like two plates, and he felt slightly unnerved by the glowing blue orbs trained on his face.

“I’m officially very confused.” Woojin groaned and rubbed at his eyes.

“Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. But long complicated story short, if you’re okay with being the gender you were assigned at birth you’re cis, if you don’t you’re trans.”

“So, are you that? Trans?” He cringed at the question.

“Yeah. Usually I don’t just tell people but well, you’ve already seen me without my binder.” He crossed one arm across his chest, feeling a little better when he couldn’t see the bump in his shirt.

“So, Woojin, to completely change subject, how did you end up literally a kilometer from shore? You definitely didn’t swim there, seeing as you’re wearing on-land clothes.” Woojin rubbed at his neck, staring down at his bare feet, which were barely skimming the surface of the water underneath him.

“I fell off my dinghy and then the stream brought me out too far to get back by swimming.” Chan nodded, and then they didn’t speak for a little while, giving Woojin the chance to look around the cave they were in. It had a low but wide opening at one end, the light reflecting through the water. Other than that the main light was Chan and his tail, casting a soft glow over them. The pool underneath their feet - well, feet and tail - seemed to be only a few meters deep, and Woojin wondered in the back of his mind how strong Chan had to be to be able to hoist him up on the cliff shelf they were on.

He let his gaze glide over to the merman again, the tail immediately catching his eyes. The light it emitted seemed to shift and wander across the surface. His eyes traveled upward, briefly lingering on the sharp line of his hip bones and the firm stomach between them. Where on Woojin there was a faint happy trail, there was a peak of the scales, covering the navel area. Chan’s shoulders and arms were strong and well developed, and he had fins sticking out from his forearms.

“I’m sorry, you probably need to get back. I’ll bring you as close to the beach as possible.”  Chan said suddenly, looking ready to jump down from the shelf.

“I’m not in that much of a hurry. If you don’t have anything to get back to…”  Woojin let the sentence hang in the air. and it seemed to remind Chan of something.

“Hey, wait a minute here, I need to get something from outside.” He heaved himself off of the cliff, giving a small reassuring smile before sinking under the surface and disappearing from Woojin’s field of sight. It took about a minute before he came back, a small bag slung over his shoulders. He grasped the edge of the shelf and pulled himself up, the water flowing off of him in mesmerizing streams. He landed heavily, shrugging off the bag and handing it to Woojin. 

“What’s this?” He opened it gently, careful with the obviously worn material. He gasped, as his eyes landed on a small pile of glimmering treasures, pearls and shards of glass laying among metal trinkets.

“I was scaving when I saw you, so I put it somewhere safe while I saved you.” Chan pulled his tail up, curling it around himself like a cat would.

“Scaving? As in scavenging?” Chan nodded. “Wow, maybe The Little Mermaid wasn’t so wrong after all.” He added with a teasing tone, earning himself a soft smack with the tail.

“Shut up, that movie is wrong about basically everything!” Woojin giggled and adjusted his legs, so one foot was resting on top of his knee. The exposed limb seemed to interest Chan, who leaned a little closer.  Woojin smiled at his curiosity.

“Have you never seen a foot before?” 

“Well, not up close? How can you even swim with those, they’re not even webbed.” Woojin let out an offended gasp.

“Hey, we make the best of a bad situation! That’s basically what makes us human!” Chan just laughed and poked Woojin’s big toe, making him shriek and nearly lose his balance, if Chan hadn’t wrapped his tail around him. He suddenly felt very aware of just how long it was, and the muscles flexing and relaxing under the skin. He tentatively laid a hand on one of the fins, feeling it flare up under his touch.

They sat like that for a while, Chan shifting so Woojin had more access to the fins. He seemed to enjoy the touch, a content smile on his face. Woojin was enchanted by the way the scales felt so smooth, how the fins tickled his fingers. 

“It’s getting kind of late Woojin. The sun is starting to set.” He was pulled out of his head by the realisation that Chan was right, evident by the diminishing light coming through the opening. He swore  quietly  to himself when he realised he didn’t know how he was going to hold onto his binder while getting back.

“How am I gonna get back?” Chan took his bag back, securing it around his chest before sinking into the water again.

“Just hold onto me and I’ll get you to shore.” Woojin stood up, careful  so he wouln’t fall, and after a few seconds of internal debate, he stuffed his binder down his pants. He heard a scoffing sound, and when he looked up, he could see Chan laughing at him.

“Don’t laugh at me! This is the only way I can do it!” Chan just grinned up at him.

“You just look silly.” Woojin huffed, deciding to just jump into the water. Many years of kendo practice and weekly gym visits had strengthened his body, so he felt confident that he would be able to hold on until they got to shore.

“How do you want me?” He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, earning himself a huffed laugh and a gentle shove at his shoulder.

“Just wrap your arms around my neck and I’ll take it easy so you don’t fall off.” Chan turned around, sinking further down into the water so Woojin could grab onto him. He did so, cringing when he felt the way his chest pressed up against the merman’s back. Chan didn’t seem to take note, just adjusting Woojin’s arms and then swimming out of the cave. 

Woojin’s jaw dropped, the salt water hitting his tongue, but he didn’t care. On the horizon he could see the sun setting, a ball of fire sinking down and setting the ocean ablaze. He could see the stars twinkling above them, mysteriously blinking down like they held the secrets of the universe.

“Wow.” He couldn’t say much more than that, the beauty of his surroundings stealing his voice. He lost track of time, and he felt a stitch of disappointment in his chest when they were nearly there.

“Can you swim the last bit yourself?”

“Mhm, just drop me off a little bit closer to the cliffs over there and I’ll be fine.” Chan nodded and headed where Woojin had pointed to. They parted about twenty meters from the shore, Woojin facing him while treading water.

“Well, it was nice to meet you Woojin, try not to drown again.” 

“I was gonna say see you around but I changed my mind.” Woojin huffed, and went to turn around, but Chan put a hand on his shoulder, so he could see the merman pout.

“Wow, not even a goodbye kiss?” Woojin blushed, but moved forward and planted a loud smack on Chan’s cheek. When he pulled back the merman’s face was tinted purple, and Woojin realised he was blushing too.

“Bye.” He swam backwards, keeping eye contact with the merman for a few seconds before turning around and swimming with long strokes towards the cliffs.

When he had climbed up on the cliffs and turned back around, Chan was nowhere to be found. 

“Why are you dripping wet hyung? And where are your shoes? You didn’t answer my calls!” Woojin didn’t answer, instead opting to go straight to the bathroom and stripping down. He didn’t bother locking the door, so soon the door was pushed open by Jeongin, his roommate, coworker and best friend. He was leaning on his crutches, a questioning look on his face.

“Fell in the ocean Innie. The boat drifted away.” He sat down in the bathtub and turned on the warm water, hoping that he wasn’t going to get a cold.

“So you lost your phone? Again?!” Jeongin groaned and sat down on the toilet, and Woojin grimaced in agreement.

“I’m gonna go looking for it tomorrow, before work. Hopefully it won’t have drifted out.” Jeongin nodded, and for a few minutes they just sat there in silence. Then he got up and sat down in front of the washing machine, determined to get Woojin’s clothes into it.

“Wanna order pizza tonight?” Woojin nodded, feeling the exhaustion all of a sudden. He had treaded water for a long time, and then he had to walk all the way back to their apartment. He leaned back in the tub and closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the air conditioner and Jeongin’s faint humming. He would have fallen asleep if the younger man hadn’t shook his arm gently, urging him to get out and get dressed so they could eat at a reasonable time.

The evening was calm, even as Woojin retold the events of the day, and Jeongin pressed him for details. They decided to share a bed that night, for the comfort of both of them. Jeongin snuggled into his chest, whispering an ‘I love you’ under his breath, getting an ‘I love you too’ back.

He found the boat stranded up on the beach, seeming like it had been pushed up quite far. Nothing was missing, to his relief. He docked it properly before taking his bike back to their apartment building, where Jeongin was already opening up their café. 

They had bought it a few years earlier, with some financial support from Jeongin’s parents. It was a light blue, two story building, the apartment on the second floor. They had bought that specific building since it had a spacious service lift, that could accommodate Jeongin’s wheelchair. They had started the café to get an outlet for the ridiculous amount of pastries Jeongin could bake in one day, and they quickly became a staple of the small neighborhood.

As he prepared for the day, taking down chairs and placing out napkin holders, his mind wandered to Chan.

He had assumed that they wouldn’t have met again. How many opportunities do you get to meet the same merman twice? So when said merman walked into the café around 11:30, wearing bathing shorts and a tank top, he didn’t know how to react. So he did what usually worked in awkward situations.

He hid under the counter. 

“Uh, hyung? What are you doing under there?” Jeongin was looking down at him from his wheelchair at the register. Woojin just raised his finger to his lips, hoping Jeongin would get the hint.

“Hello!” Chan’s voice was chipper, and he hoped that the now tail less merman hadn’t noticed him.

“Oh hi! Welcome to Bear and Fox Café! What can I get for you today?” 

“Oh, do you have any juices?” Jeongin clapped his hands together, getting up on shaky legs. Woojin knew what he was doing; he was pushing his ability to walk to mess with him, counting on his inability to see the younger man getting hurt. After a particularly wobbly step he gave in to his older brother instinct and rushed off of the floor after him, scolding him as he brought him back to his chair. Jeongin just smiled mischievously at him, adjusting his seating  after being plopped down .

“Woojin?” Chan was looking at him in shock, and Woojin dragged a hand down his face.

“Hi Chan.”

“Chan? The Chan?!” Jeongin’s shrieks made him regret telling the younger man about his near drowning and encounter, but glad he had chosen to leave out the part about the kiss. 

“You’ve talked about me?” Chan was looking between the two men, obviously confused. Woojin sighed, knowing that there was no way of talking himself out of it.

“Did you expect me to be quiet about getting saved by a handsome merman?” Chan rubbed awkwardly at the nape of his neck, and Woojin finally noticed that the purple tint on his lips and face from when they first met had been replaced by a warm pink, which was spreading down his neck.

“Uh thanks? I guess? I swear I didn’t know you worked here, I just wanted some juice-”

“Of course! My dear hyung here will help you with that. Anything else? A cookie or muffin?” Chan shook his head, and Woojin waved him over to follow him to the other end of the café, where they had their chilled drinks.

“So, what do you want? We have some premade ones but we also have a couple options that we can make fresh at the counter.” He gestured to the two mixers they had, and Chan nodded.

“Do you have watermelon juice?” Woojin nodded and got to work making the juice, Chan watching intently. He brought the glass back to Jeongin, who punched in the total.

“1800₩ please!” Chan pulled out a leather wallet - that Woojin was 95% sure was made out of fish leather - and paid, taking his drink with a small thank you and going over to sit at the corner table. 

As soon as Chan’s attention had been directed away from them, Woojin flicked Jeongin’s forehead. The younger man hissed and put his hand over the sore spot, with a small ‘hyung!’.

“I’m gonna go talk to him, and if you interrupt I swear to God I’m hiding all the batteries again.” Jeongin huffed but didn’t talk back, and Woojin pulled off his apron before walking over to Chan, who greeted him with a confused smile.

“I really like the juice Woojin!” Woojin smiled back as he sat down, taking in a breath to calm himself so he didn’t shout.

“How the fuck do you have legs right now?” Chan looked taken aback at first, but then he gestured to the necklace resting on his chest. It wasn’t the choker he had seen the last time, instead a silver chain with a ring hanging from it.

“It’s enchanted. My brother made it for me. He knows I like collecting things so he gave this to me so I could collect on-land things too.” Woojin nodded, taking in the merman more thoroughly. His eyes weren’t glowing blue anymore, but a soft brown with flecks of blue. His brown hair was  fluffy and  curly when dry, and the scales that had adorned his face were also gone in this form.

“Okay, second question.  Was it you  that brought the boat back to shore for me?” Chan blushed a little again, rubbing at the nape of his neck; it seemed like a nervous tick.

“Yeah. I found it drifting a bit away from the cave and I decided to bring it to land. I only realised it was yours ‘cause of your mobile phone. That picture of you and the  guy in the wheelchair is cute by the way.”

“His name is Jeongin.” Said man perked up at the sound of his name, giving a small wave. “Thanks, by the way. It would have been a bitch to have to replace everything in the boat.” Chan smiled, a bit more confident now.

“No problem. So you work here?” Woojin smirked slightly.

“Better than that, I own it with Jeonginnie over there. We live in the apartment above.” Chan’s eyes widened, and combined with the way he was sucking on his straw, he looked cartoonish.

“That’s so cool! How long have you had it?” Woojin was about to answer when the bell above the door rang again, and Seungmin stepped in. He had a glint in his eyes, and he wasted no time in stepping behind the counter.

“Hyung! Save me!” Jeongin screeched dramatically, and Woojin just chuckled when the younger man was enveloped in an aggressive hug from his boyfriend.

“Hi Woojin hyung.” Seungmin greeted politely, and Woojin greeted him back.

“Who’s that?” Chan had leaned in when he whispered, and Woojin mimicked his position when he answered.

“Jeongin’s boyfriend, Seungmin. He’s… firm with his love.” Seungmin had graduated from hugging his boyfriend to sitting in his lap and peppering his face with small kisses. Chan giggled, and Woojin was pretty sure that was illegal. How could someone be that beautiful  _ and _ have a beautiful voice? It was simply unfair.

“Don’t you have work to do?” Woojin shook his head as he stood up and walked over to the door. He flipped the ‘OPEN’ sign to ‘CLOSED’.

“We have a 30 minute lunch break that Seungmin always shares with us. You’re welcome to join if you want.” He add ed on a soft smile, only so he  could see the merman in front of him sputter around his straw.

“Who are you inviting to lunch?” Seungmin wondered from his spot on Jeongin’s lap.

“Chan, y’know the merman Innie told you about?” Seungmin’s eyes widened in a puppy like fashion, and he stood up to get a better look at said merman. Jeongin grumbled at the loss of affection, opting to wrap his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.

“But where did your tail go?”  Seungmin asked, and  Chan lifted his necklace up so  he  could get a clear view of it.

“Enchanted necklace. My brother made it for me, so I can scav on land.” Woojin mouthed ‘scavenge’ to the confused Seungmin, and the man nodded in understanding.

“What should we get for lunch hyung? I vote for fried chicken!” Jeongin smiled brightly as he wheeled around the counter. The others agreed, and after leaving their aprons behind the counter, they walked - and wheeled - over to the fried chicken shop opposite the café. 

Lunch went by quick, conversation light and about mostly nothing. Chan was as delighted by the chicken as Woojin, and  each of them probably ate more than Jeongin and Seungmin combined.

“How old are you, Chan?” Jeongin leaned his elbows on the table, ignoring the daggers Seungmin’s eyes were shooting into him.

“Uh, 27 by human years? Merpeople count age differently.” 

“You’re the same age as me then!” Woojin clapped his hand on Chan’s shoulder, causing him to choke on the chicken he just bit off a large piece of. Seungmin and Jeongin burst out in laughter, ignoring Chan’s glares. Woojin handed the merman his glass of water, apologizing while trying to hide his laughter. 

The rest of lunch went by smoothly, with Seungmin having to leave early when his boss called him back to work. The three others waved him off through the window, Jeongin blowing kisses that made his boyfriend blush. 

“So what are you doing for the rest of the day?” Woojin asked Chan when they walked back to the café, lagging behind a few steps to let Jeongin get in first.

“Well, maybe go scaving? I didn’t find anything particularly interesting on land today.” Woojin nodded, stopping in the doorway and leaning on the frame. He fiddled with the leather bracelet on his arm, wondering wether it would be a bad idea to be as forward as he felt like being.

“Want to go swimming with me?” Chan looked up in  delighted surprise, and Woojin wasn’t opposed to seeing that expression more often.

“Sure? I guess? I-I mean, I would love to but I-” Woojin laughed and put a finger over his lips to quiet him.

“How about  by 15, when I get off from work?” Chan nodded slightly, redness rising in his cheeks. Woojin pulled his hand back with a chuckle. “Great, I’ll meet you at my boat, okay?” Chan nodded again, and then darted forward, planting a small kiss on Woojin’s cheek. When he pulled away he didn’t meet the man’s eyes, just waved and ran off. He raised his hand to his cheek, hovering over the warmth lingering on his cheek. 

“You’re looking kinda whipped hyung!” Woojin spun around to find Jeongin snickering at him, and darted into the  building to get his revenge, soon turning snickers into screams as he chased the younger man around the café.


	2. Seungmin Loves Jeongin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hey Woojin! Wanna see me change back into a merman?”
> 
> “Sure! Need me to catch you?” Chan scoffed and rolled his eyes, sitting down in the water instead of answering. Woojin sat down next to him, enjoying the salty breeze and the warm water splashing up against him. 
> 
> He was definitely not prepared when Chan raised himself up and pulled his shorts down, making Woojin squeak and cover his eyes.
> 
> “Woah! I’m sorry, did I do something wrong again?” Chan sounded sincerely apologetic, and Woojin waved one hand in front of him.
> 
> “Give a guy some warning first, Jesus.” He mumbled, fully aware of the slight heat rising in his cheeks. Chan chuckled awkwardly, and he could hear him shifting around.
> 
> “Is this better?” Woojin peeked through his fingers, and nearly choked on his own tongue. Chan was leaning back on his hands, eyes half closed against the sunlight. He had placed the shorts on his crotch, only covering his junk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aight,,,, im back. this took a little cause i was stuck on the end there, but i hope y'all like this one!
> 
> i dont have much to say since this is just edited with some added stuff??

He was not surprised to see Chan waiting for him by his dinghy after work. What did surprise him was that he still had legs. When the merman saw him he stood up to greet him, a bright smile on his lips. He wasn’t wearing his t-shirt, revealing his well muscled upper body, and Woojin hoped he could hold off on staring too much.

“I know I’m early, but I had some free time.” Chan said and Woojin smiled back at him.

“Eh, I’m early as well. Jeongin pestered me into leaving.” He snickered, and then lowered his tote bag into the boat. “After you.” He motioned down to it, and Chan carefully climbed into it, obviously not used to being in a boat. “Where’s the tail then?” He asked while untying the boat. Chan was already seated, and after gathering up the rope he climbed in himself.

“Well, since you said to meet you by the boat I assumed we would be going somewhere by boat first.” He looked slightly uneasy, unsure in his movements with a steady grip on his seat. Woojin leaned forward and pinched his cheek in an exaggerated fashion.

“Awe, you’re so smart Channie, you really got a bright head on you.” Chan laughed and slapped his hand away, and the bright mood continued as they puttered along.

They soon arrived at their destination; a small, hidden away bay, with a sandy beach and a cliff formation out in the water. Woojin had stumbled upon it by accident a year earlier, and it had quickly become a favorite spot for him.

They pulled the boat up on the beach, making sure that the tide wouldn’t carry it out. While Chan stood with his feet in the water and let the sun caress his skin, Woojin plucked out the small cooling box with dinner and placed it with the towels on the picnic blanket. He felt slightly anxious, as he of course couldn’t wear his binder while swimming, so he had to resort to a high compression swimming top. It didn’t make him as flat as his binder, but it wouldn’t be noticeable in the water. He tugged his t-shirt off, draping it over the side of the boat.

“Hey Woojin! Wanna see me change back into a merman?”

“Sure! Need me to catch you?” Chan scoffed and rolled his eyes, sitting down in the water instead of answering. Woojin sat down next to him, enjoying the salty breeze and the warm water splashing up against him. 

He was definitely not prepared when Chan raised himself up and pulled his shorts down, making Woojin squeak and cover his eyes.

“Woah! I’m sorry, did I do something wrong again?” Chan sounded sincerely apologetic, and Woojin waved one hand in front of him.

“Give a guy some warning first, Jesus.” He mumbled, fully aware of the slight heat rising in his cheeks. Chan chuckled awkwardly, and he could hear him shifting around.

“Is this better?” Woojin peeked through his fingers, and nearly choked on his own tongue. Chan was leaning back on his hands, eyes half closed against the sunlight. He had placed the shorts on his crotch, only covering his junk. 

“Marginally.” Chan just grinned, and then reached up and unclasped the necklace, tucking it into the pocket of his bathing shorts. It took effect immediately, the air shimmering around his legs as they morphed and elongated into his tail. 

The way the scales shimmered in the sunlight was breathtaking, and Woojin couldn’t help but to reach out and touch, the familiar sensation of reactive fins and smoothness nearly comforting. Chan placed his hand on top of Woojin’s, and their eyes met. For a second, they just stared at eachother, and Woojin was sure he heard the merman’s breath hitch.

Then the moment was broken when Chan raised his tail and splashed Woojin, and then quickly got himself out of the shallows; he tossed his shorts up on the beach. He laughed at the man, who was glaring at him while wiping the saltwater out of his eyes. 

“Get in you big baby!” Woojin rolled his eyes and swam out with powerful strokes, chasing the surprised merman around.

They swam around for hours, Chan diving down and showing Woojin all the things he could find on the bottom. When they got too tired to keep swimming, they sat on the little cliff island, watching the seagulls soar above them.

“It’s really nice here, Woojin.” Chan had his tail on Woojin’s lap, letting the man pet the smooth surface. “It’s just kinda hidden? It’s nice.” The man hummed.

“That’s why I like coming here. The chance of some stranger seeing me without my binder and me feeling uncomfortable about it is much smaller.” 

“Is it uncomfortable with me here?” There was a hint of worry in the merman’s voice.

“No. You make me feel very comfortable actually.” He reached up and intertwined their hands, hoping his smile could make him more at ease. Chan smiled back, squeezing his hand. 

“Good. It makes me happy to see you comfortable.” They spent the rest of the afternoon lazing around, on and off the cliffs. Woojin swam in to land to send a text to Jeongin that he was going to be home late, so he didn’t have to stay up. Jeongin had just sent back a string of suggestive emojis, making Woojin roll his eyes. He threw a glance back, seeing that Chan had dived down to investigate something, and he took that opportunity to change out of his swimming top and put the t-shirt on. It clung to his skin, but he knew he would dry quickly.

“I have food Chan!” Chan dragged himself as far up on the beach as he could, and Woojin threw him his bathing shorts so he could transform. He kept his back turned to him, focusing on arranging the food in a way that made sense. He had made a large bottle of watermelon juice, just for Chan, and ham sandwiches and cut up fruit for the both of them. As he admired his work he heard a gasp behind him.

“Is that watermelon juice?” Chan kneeled down next to him, grabbing the bottle to smell it. Woojin laughed, chucking a towel at his head and telling him to dry off before dinner. They dug into the food, both starving from their swimming. The sun had started setting as they ate, the light rays painting the bay in gold and pink.

Chan loved ham, it turned out. He had bit into the sandwich, realised the contents, and then begged Woojin for his slice. Woojin couldn’t resist the puppy dog eyes the other was giving him, and gave it to him with a promise that he could make more ham sandwiches for him if he visited.

“You’re like Ponyo, except a brunette and not a tiny fish girl.”

“Who’s Ponyo?” Woojin dug out his phone from his bag, to search for a good picture to show him. When he showed one, however, Chan shook his head. “Don’t know who that is.”

“You know what The Little Mermaid is but not Ponyo?” Chan held his hands up in a defensive gesture.

“It’s what Felix showed me! Blame him, not me.” 

“Felix?” Chan took another bite of his sandwich as he nodded. He opened his mouth to answer, but Woojin pushed at his chin to close it again. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, that’s gross.” Chan huffed, but chewed and swallowed before speaking.

“He’s my brother, the one that made my necklace. He, along with Hyunjin - his best friend - get on land a lot, mostly to dance like you humans do.” Woojin nodded and sipped his bottle of water. 

“Wanna watch some movies with me and Jeongin sometime? We can watch Ponyo so you know what I’m talking about. We could invite Seungmin too, he loves that movie.” Chan lit up and nodded.

“Could we invite Jinnie and Lix too? They would love to meet some more humans.” Woojin chuckled at the merman’s phrasing, and reached out to ruffle his half dried hair.

“Of course, Jeongin loves meeting new people.” Chan swatted his hand away, laying down on the picnic blanket to look up at the stars, and Woojin joined him. 

The sky was beautiful, breathtakingly so; the moon was full, casting deep blue shadows across the ground. Woojin sneaked looks at Chan every so often, and he could feel his heart skip a beat every time. The moon light accented his full lips and his soft cheeks, the way his adam’s apple bobbed when he laughed. 

“You know you’re beautiful right?” Woojin interrupted Chan’s rambling about starfish, and the merman looked at him in surprise, and his eyes were big and gorgeous; he pushed himself up on his elbow so he hovered over the other. “Like, it’s unfair that you look this good?” Chan blinked up at him, and Woojin swore he could see him blushing.

“Thanks? You’re very beautiful yourself.” He reached up, caressing the man’s cheek with something that looked like adoration in his eyes. They smiled at each other, and subconsciously both leaned closer, slowly, until their lips met. The taste of salt was present, but also the sweetness from the fruit they had eaten. They moved, gentle presses that sent shivers down Woojin’s spine. They broke away to breathe, and giggles escaped when they looked each other in the eyes.

“Hope you know I like you, too.” Chan pushed softly at his shoulder with a smile.

“You’re bold.” Woojin leaned down and pecked his nose.

“You like it.” He leaned in again, leading the kiss. Their kiss was interrupted, however, by Woojin’s phone ringing. He groaned, but rolled over and grabbed it to answer; the ringtone was Jeongin’s, and he wouldn’t call at this hour if it wasn’t important.

He didn’t get time for a greeting.

“Hyung! Where is the whiteboard and the markers? I’ve looked literally everywhere and I can’t find them.” Woojin rubbed at his face, unable to stop a yawn from escaping.

“Is Seungmin nonverbal?”

“He just went nonverbal all of a sudden after a nap and now he’s sad ‘cause we can’t find the whiteboard, and you know how he feels about texting in these situations.” Chan had pushed himself up on his elbow, looking at him with a confused expression.

“The last time I saw them… Shit, I know exactly where they are. Remember when he went nonverbal at the café, last week? I put them on one of the shelves after he left, so a customer’s kids couldn’t get to them.” He heard his roommate groan, and the telltale sounds of a nonverbal and disgruntled Seungmin, humming and hissing.

“But then neither of us can get to them, hyung! What are we supposed to do?” Woojin sat up, stretching his free arm in front of him.

“I’ll come home and get it. I’ll be back home in about twenty five minutes, okay? I love you both.”

“We love you too, hyung.” He heard Jeongin move the phone, and then he couldn’t help but smile when Seungmin vocalised into reciever. He rolled r’s affectionately, and Woojin knew they meant ‘I love you too’. He hung up the phone with a quick bye, and then turned to face Chan.

“I need to go home. Seungmin can’t speak, and I was an idiot who put away the whiteboard where none of them could get it.” He stood up, brushing sand from his shins as Chan stood up next to him.

“Do you want me to come with?” Woojin gave a nod, and together they quickly packed everything together, before pushing the boat back into the water and getting in. Woojin couldn’t help but notice that they were going faster than they should have been, and that it’s beginning had coincided with Chan leaning down and putting his hand in the water.

“Are you making the boat go faster?” The merman looked slightly startled, but he nodded.

“You talked like you needed to get home as fast as possible.”

“Shit, yeah. Should I keep the motor going? Does it help?” Chan dipped his other hand in the water, and he felt the boat lurch forward.

“Yeah, you need to steer it.” 

With their joint efforts, they got home in fifteen minutes - including the run from the beach - and Woojin burst into the apartment, brandishing the whiteboard he had picked up on their way through the café.

“I am so sorry, I’m never gonna do that again.” He said while hugging Seungmin, who happily hugged back. The first thing he did when he got the whiteboard was to draw a big heart, holding it out towards Woojin.

“~it’s fine hyung!!~” He added underneath, scribbling with an intensely focused look on his face, tongue sticking out in concentration. Woojin hugged him once again, ruffling a hand through the younger’s hair.

“Woojin hyung didn’t tell me you were coming too, Chan hyung!” He could see the merman smile and lean down to hug Jeongin in the corner of his eye, and he felt a tug in his stomach of happiness. 

“Well you were just too charming to not visit. And you don’t have to call me hyung Jeongin, just Chan is fine.” Seungmin clicked his tongue, skipping up to Chan to wrap himself around him. The merman looked slightly startled, and looked to Woojin in his confusion.

“He’s very touchy when nonverbal.” Woojin explained, walking over to rub a hand along the younger’s back. “You’re really loud for being nonverbal though.” Seungmin huffed and snorted at the teasing remark, but there was no edge from either of them. Chan reciprocated the hug, raising one hand to pat him on the head.

“It’s cute.”

“Seungminnie, do you want to watch something? We could watch Ponyo if you’d like.” Seungmin perked up at Jeongin’s offer, untangling himself from Chan so he could skip over to his boyfriend, bouncing on the spot while he nodded. 

“Hey, that’s the movie you were talking about earlier right? I wanna watch it too.” Chan butted in, looking at Woojin.

“But it’s late.” He stole a glance at the clock, the green digital numbers showing 00:47. “You two need to sleep.” Seungmin pouted, whining disapprovingly. He gave him big, pleading puppy dog eyes, and Woojin stared back at him, knowing there was a 95% chance he would fail in resisting him. 

“We wanna watch Ponyo, hyung! We napped earlier anyway so we’re not tired anyway, right Seungminnie?” Said man nodded, bouncing up and down while flapping his hands. Jeongin smiled fondly and joined him, and Woojin joined in too, after a few seconds of pretending to not see them. Seungmin giggled, his head lolling from side to side.

“Am I also supposed to shake my hands then?” Chan asked, holding his hands up in the air. Woojin gave him an encouraging smile, and the merman hesitantly started moving his hands up and down. Seungmin cooed in excitement, rolling r’s and flapping his hands harder. Jeongin smiled, interrupting his flapping to hug his boyfriend. Seungmin shook his head rapidly, only stopping himself to straddle his boyfriend to hug him. Woojin and Chan let their hands still, looking at each other over the two young men’s heads. 

“I’ll prepare Ponyo then, you babies. Seungmin, could you get a shirt for Chan?” Seungmin nodded, and skipped off to Woojin’s bedroom. Chan trailed after him, and Woojin was followed into the living room by Jeongin in his wheelchair.

“Hey hyung, do you think I left my crutches downstairs? We couldn’t find them up here either.” The younger man pushed himself off from his chair and let himself collapse on the spacious sofa, while Woojin searched their shelf for the right DVD.

“I can go look for them. You want something from downstairs?” 

“Seungmin would appreciate some cookies. I want a giant muffin.” Woojin nodded, placing the DVD case on top of the DVD player. 

“Chan? Do you want something to snack on during the movie?” Woojin shouted, and said merman poked his head in at Woojin’s question, his hair ruffled from pulling a hoodie on.

“I want to try cookies and a muffin.” He stepped in, smiling at Jeongin lounging on the sofa, limbs haphazardly thrown over the soft fabric.

“Have you never had pastries before?” Chan shook his head at Jeongin’s question, making the younger gasp. “You need to try them! I promise they’re good, I don’t make anything but the best.” Chan smiled, promising he would at least taste everything downstairs. Seungmin stepped into the room at that point, crawling onto the sofa to attach himself to his boyfriend, and they connected their lips in a sweet kiss, which quickly turned heated. Chan’s ears turned red, and Woojin laughed while dragging him out of the apartment and down the stairs.

“We’ll give them some time. Seungmin isn’t big on short kisses.” Chan nodded, and stepped into the dark café after Woojin.

“He’s very affectionate huh?” Woojin smiled, thinking of the long hugs and sweet cheek kisses he could always count on.

“He feels safe with us, so he can’t help but latch on.” He flicked on the light behind the counter, crouching down to grab a tray for their pastries.

“He’s not like other humans, right? I mean, he could speak when I met him yesterday. But that’s normal for him?” Chan sat down on the stool that was standing next to the sink.

“He’s autistic. It means his brain works differently, and sometimes that means he can’t speak, or look people in the eyes, among other things. That’s also why he moves like that.” 

“And it’s not common to be autistic?”

“Eh, maybe 1% across the world population? It’s hard to estimate since a lot of people go undiagnosed.” Chan made a noise of confusion.

“It’s seen as a problem?” Woojin sighed, placing another chocolate chip cookie on the tray.

“By many people. That’s why he trusts us, ‘cause we don’t see it as a problem.” He stood up, placing the tray on the counter before getting the plate of left over pastries from the previous day out of the fridge. He grabbed a spoon from the tin holding them, scooping up a bite from a cheesecake slice and holding it in front of Chan, who looked at him in confusion. “You promised Jeongin you would taste everything.”

“Is that cheesecake?”

“Yep. Open up, sweet cheeks.” The merman rolled his eyes at the nickname, but opened his mouth to taste. He rolled the cake around in his mouth, eyebrows knitted as he tasted, but then his eyes lit up and he clapped his hands.

“That was really good!” Woojin smiled, moving the spoon to a different pastry. Chan was delighted at all the new tastes, and Woojin cooed internally. When they had gotten through all of them, Chan begged to taste the cheesecake again. Woojin laughed as he put down the spoon and grabbed the slice with his fingers. Chan opened his mouth wide, taking the entire cake into his mouth, his lips wrapped around Woojin’s finger tips. 

Woojin’s breath hitched, and he couldn’t tear his eyes from the merman, who swirled his tongue around the digits in his mouth. He pulled off with a pop, smiling at the man in front of him, unaware of how he had made him weak in the knees.

“God you’re killing me.” He cornered Chan on the counter, whose expression had shifted to confused. He leaned in, tracing the line of his Adam’s apple with his mouth.

“Did I do something wrong again?” His voice was waivering just slightly, but it spurred Woojin’s confidence.

“You’re really cute, y’know that right?” He moved his mouth upwards, following Chan’s jaw to behind his ears, where he pressed a soft kiss. He pulled back a little so they were nose to nose, and he could see the heat rising in the merman’s cheeks. He leaned in and their lips met, the sweet taste sending tingles down his spine. Chan laid a hand on his shoulder, tilting his head in an attempt to deepen the kiss. He could feel his tongue, running along the line of his mouth, but he decided to tease, breaking away to plant kisses down the merman’s neck again.

“Come on Woojin.” He grunted, weakly squeezing at the man’s shoulder, but Woojin just chuckled, focusing his attention on the base of his neck, while sliding his hands up under his hoodie. “Seungmin and Jeongin are probably waiting for us upstairs.” 

“They definitely do not want us to come up right now, did you see how they were making out? If they haven’t shoved their hands down each other’s pants yet I’m surprised.” Chan squeaked, both at Woojin’s statement and his hands traveling down the merman’s thighs. 

“So what, we’re just going to wait for them to get done humping each other? What are we supposed to do?” Woojin smirked, grabbing Chan’s hips so he could pull him closer, causing the merman to wrap his legs around his middle.

“We could just have fun here, downstairs.” Chan didn’t miss the innuendo, smacking Woojin in the chest with a mumble. He leaned back in nonetheless, sighing happily when the man opened up his mouth for him to explore. No one was really leading, their tongues pushing back and forth languidly.

Woojin pulled back, not missing how Chan chased after his mouth as if on instinct, and carded his hand through the merman’s curls. Said merman smiled, eyes crinkling into crescent shapes.

“I think you’re really pretty, Woojin. I really want to get to know you better too, you’re… You’re so nice.” Woojin couldn’t help the large grin that spread across his face.

“I want to know you better too.” He leaned back in, pressing a light kiss to Chan’s cheek. He broke away, and out of the corner of his eye he spotted Jeongin’s crutches leaning against the counter. 

“You think they’re done now?” Chan asked as he stretched his arms above his head, the hoodie rising to expose a sliver of pale skin.

“Probably. At least I hope they are. It wasn’t fun for anyone when I walked in on them once.” Chan laughed at the scrunched up expression on Woojin’s face, cradling his cheeks in his hands.

“We’ll hope for the best.” They grabbed Jeongin’s crutches and three bottles of pineapple and orange juice, and then walked back up to the apartment, where Seungmin and Jeongin were cuddled up on the sofa, hair ruffled and shirts switched, wide grins on their faces. Woojin was pretty sure he could see a hickey on Jeongin’s thigh when he moved and his shorts rode up, but he didn’t mention it. Chan flopped down next to them, handing one bottle to Seungmin, who accepted it with a clicking from the back of his throat. Woojin turned the TV on and popped the DVD in, before taking the spot next to Chan. 

Both Seungmin and Chan were enchanted by the movie, Seungmin’s gurgling and clicking and Chan’s amazed gasps proof of that. Jeongin fell asleep before the end - despite his insisting that he would be able stay awake - cuddling into his boyfriend’s chest. When the credits started rolling, Seungmin raised his hands above his head and seal clapped, making Chan giggle.

“I really liked it.” He whispered, careful to not wake the sleeping man.

“If you dyed your hair orange you would look like her.” Woojin teased, jabbing a finger in the merman’s side, who quickly wiggled away from him.

“You would totally look like Sosuke if you got a bowl cut.” The remark earned Chan a pillow to the face, and Seungmin giggled next to them.

“Seungmin loves Jeongin!” His voice was a little raspy from not being used.

“Jeongin loves Seungmin too, but Jeongin really wants to sleep.” Came the mumble from Jeongin, who wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.

“Go sleep in Innie’s bed instead guys, you’re gonna be sore tomorrow if you sleep on the sofa.” Woojin said and patted Seungmin on the shoulder. Seungmin stood up, adjusting so that Jeongin had his arms wrapped around his neck instead, and carried him to his bedroom. A minute later he came back, bringing the wheelchair with him this time. He said a small ‘good night’, before returning to his boyfriend. That left Chan and Woojin draped over the sofa, the credits coming to an end on the screen.

“Well, guess I have to head home, or Felix will kill me for not coming home on time, again.” Chan stood up while talking, stretching his arms above his head. Woojin pouted, fumbling after the remote to turn the TV off.

“He sounds like a protective older brother.” Chan laughed, snatching up a forgotten cookie from the tray.

“I’m older than him, but he doesn’t want me to get hurt again.” Woojin perked up at the last word, shifting his eyes up to the merman’s face.

“Again?” Chan nodded, more somber now, and sat down next to him. He swallowed his mouthful of cookie before speaking.

“A few years ago I got caught in some fishermen’s net, and even though I got out, there was a bunch of metal scrap that scratched me up pretty good.” Woojin reached out, his fingers tracing Chan’s cheek; the merman leaned into his touch. “You can’t see the scars though, Felix made me these earrings that hide them.” His eyes followed the merman’s finger, that was pointing at the two small rings hanging from the side of his left ear.

“Jeongin gets like that sometimes with me. He’s better now, but a few years ago he couldn’t handle me even leaving the building without telling him first.” Chan knitted his eyebrows together in confusion.

“What happened?” Woojin sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.

“I landed in the hospital two years ago, nothing major, just broke my arm. But he couldn’t come visit, and he got so upset and nervous ‘cause I couldn’t come home immediately. He relied a lot more on me back then, and while Seungmin could help him with certain things, he couldn’t be there at all times like I could. Then when I did get home, he suddenly had to take on some of my responsibilities. He was a mess.” Chan nodded, stroking Woojin’s arm reassuringly.

“I’m glad he’s better now. Felix, however, still gets on my ass about it.” 

“You can’t send some type of message to him? With like, I don’t know, a mermaid phone?” Chan laughed at Woojin’s question, slapping him on the arm.

“Well, electricity isn’t that hot with the sub aqua folks, but there is a way.” He stood up again, pulling Woojin with him.

“Wait, where are we going?” Woojin didn’t actually question it, just let himself be dragged out to the hallway.

“If I can find the right type of seashell, I can send him a message through the water.” Chan let go of Woojin, to let him put his shoes on, and that was when said man realised that he had never seen the merman wear shoes.

“And I need to come along because..?” Chan laughed, patting him on the head.

“‘Cause it’s more fun that way. Come on, I bet I can get to the beach faster than you.” 

“Is that a challenge?” Woojin asked as he straightened up, and Chan smirked playfully.

“Of course it is.” They stared at each other, and then they were running out of the apartment the next second, Chan nearly falling in the stairs. They took the back door out, which locked automatically, and kept a steady pace as they ran through the empty streets. Chan was surprisingly fast, but Woojin was an athlete, and they reached the beach, both panting, with Woojin in the lead.

“I win!” He shouted, hands thrown up in the air. Chan smacked him in the stomach from where he was bent double, taking deep, laboured breaths.

“Yeah, yeah, stop bragging. I would have beaten you if I didn’t get a cold last week.” He stood up, tugging off his hoodie - well, Woojin’s hoodie - and threw it to Woojin. “I’m going to find a conch shell.” Woojin couldn’t help but laugh.

“A conch shell? Seriously? Are you going to blow it or are you going to use it like a phone?” Chan huffed, waving his right hand at his hip, and then all of a sudden Woojin’s legs were drenched. The water that had splashed him, an unnatural plume that undulated at Chan’s feet, seemed to be mocking him before it collapsed on itself.

“I can control water, so watch yourself.” He added a smile at the end, but Woojin faked a scowl, kicking up sand at him. He bundled up the hoodie, cringing when he realised it had gotten hit by the water too.

“I’m gonna go put this somewhere you can’t get it more wet, and then I’ll be right back.”

“I’ll be in the water.” Chan stepped out into the water, and Woojin turned his back to him, in case the merman was going to transform. His eyes caught eyes of the perfect spot, a large tree trunk lying a few meters away from him. He draped the hoodie over it, so it could dry properly. He looked behind him, seeing Chan with his tail, and came to a dilemma. He didn’t have his swimming top, that was at home, but he didn’t want to get his only shirt wet, and then have to walk home in the night breeze in it. He took a deep breath, pulling his t-shirt off and throwing it next to the hoodie before he could regret it, immediately wrapping his arms around himself. He could handle it; it was just Chan, who had never made a comment about his chest, or treated him as anything but a man. 

He ran into the water, sinking down where it was waist deep so only his head was above the surface, letting out a sigh of relief. 

“You took your shirt off?” Woojin jumped, not only at Chan’s words, but also at his webbed hands on his waist.

“Yeah, didn’t want to walk home completely wet.” The merman rested his chin on top of Woojin’s head, his tail curling in front of them.

“Smart. I can’t find a conch shell. We might have to improvise.” 

“Have you looked everywhere?” Woojin could feel him nod on top of his head.

“I can use another shell, but the conch is the most optimal shape.” Chan detached himself from Woojin, moving himself so he was in front of him instead. “You look kinda funny with your arms like that.” Woojin pushed at him with a leg, but there was no venom behind the merman’s words.

“You look kinda funny running around without shoes.” He retorted, and dropped down one of his arms. His chest wasn’t huge, and Chan didn’t stare. Well, at his chest at least; he had caught him staring at his arms and stomach earlier in the day at the bay, probably thinking he was subtle.

“Want to help look for a shell?” Woojin nodded, and they moved to the more rocky areas to find an unoccupied shell. After a while, Woojin felt comfortable enough to drop his other arm, finding it easier to move that way. He even stood with his upper body out of the water a few times, and didn’t feel that wave of dysphoria that would usually come with being shirtless. He felt light.

They found a decently sized oyster half, and Chan said that would do. They sat on a cliff that stuck out of the water, and Chan held the shell in his hands, resting it just under the surface. He mumbled something under his breath, and then blew softly on the shell. The water reacted unnaturally, freezing in creases. He lifted it up, the drops freezing in midair. He cupped his palm over it, and blew into it, creating a haunting sound. It echoed across the water, and when the air finally fell quiet the water around them started moving normally again.

“Wow.” Woojin said, unable to formulate his thoughts out loud. Chan chuckled, scooting closer to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, hand resting over his chest. Woojin didn’t feel bothered by it, and joy bubbled in his throat. There was something about the merman that put him at ease, that didn’t trigger his dysphoria even when he was half naked.

“Tell me if this makes you uncomfortable.” Woojin turned his eyes to Chan, an eyebrow quirked. “I think your chest is pretty, even when you’re not wearing your binder.” Woojin giggled, tucking his knees to his chest.

“Oh my God, you’re a dork.” He leaned and kissed him, and he could feel Chan smiling against his lips. They broke away and leaned their foreheads together, hands intertwined.

A sudden haunting cry sounded, making Chan lift his head to listen, and then laugh.

“That was Felix. He’s defintely grumpy, but says he isn’t, and that he’ll see me tomorrow for the ball.” 

“Ball? What kinda ball?” Woojin tilted his head in confusion, and Chan smiled at him.

“It’s a ball to celebrate him finishing his schooling. He’s a Creator. That’s how he learnt how to make my jewelry.”

“And you need an entire ball for that?”

“Well, when the prince finishes something big like that, the people generally like to celebrate.” Woojin opened his mouth to jokingly snark back, but he got stuck on the first part of the sentence Chan had just uttered.

“Wait, wait- Prince? That means you’re a prince too!” He stood up rapidly, but his feet slipped on the wet rock underneath him and he fell into the water, flailing like a fool.

“Is it that surprising?” Chan laughed when he surfaced, frantically spitting salt water. “Didn’t I tell you that I was in a high position in society when we first met?”

“You did! But I didn’t think that would mean you’re a prince!” Woojin sputtered, climbing back up on the rock. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I have a crush on a merman prince.” He muttered to himself, but Chan heard him.

“You have a crush on me?” He squeaked, and that familiar purple blush that made Woojin feel warm spread across his face.

“Can you blame me?” Chan laughed nervously, rubbing at the nape of his neck. “You literally saved my life, and then you’ve been nothing but amazing to me, and my family.” Woojin continued, putting one hand on the merman’s cheek and the other on his tail.

“I-I have a crush on you too. Like, since I first saw you. When I finally looked at your face I was kinda smitten.” Chan ducked his head down, but Woojin moved his hand from the merman’s cheek to his chin, tilting it back up.

“You’re cute, my prince.” Chan yelped at the nickname, but it was quickly smothered by Woojin’s lips. They kissed slow, sweet, until their lungs burned from the lack of air, and when they broke away their lips were swollen.

“If I’m your prince, then what are you?” Woojin felt webbed hands rest on his hips, and he chuckled.

“I can be your brave knight; I can handle a sword.” Chan laughed, planting a kiss on Woojin’s lips before leaning his head on the other’s shoulder. They looked up at the sky, stars scattered like glitter across the dark expanse; their hands intertwined, and then their lips met again. Woojin snaked his arms around the merman’s waist to hold him closer, one hand cupping Chan’s head and running his fingers through his curls. Chan giggled into Woojin’s mouth suddenly, and Woojin pulled away to look at him in confusion and Chan wiggled his eyebrows at him.

“If you’re a knight, can you handle my sword?” He said with a tone that clearly showed he thought he was funny, but Woojin shoved him into the water. Woojin could only smile at his misfortune for a few seconds before a plume of water hit him in the shoulder, sending him flying a good meter backwards into the water. It didn’t hurt when he hit the surface, and he gently sank to the bottom. The event shocked him into laughing, and when he saw Chan he started laughing more; the merman had surfaced with seaweed covering his head and shoulders, and looked extremely grumpy.

“That’s what you get!” Woojin shouted between laughs, and Chan flung a particularly slimy piece of seaweed his way, although he missed completely.

“Was the joke really that bad?” He grumbled as he shook the seaweed off, and Woojin snorted as he stood up.

“It was terrible. Like seriously man, that’s not how you get someone to suck your dick.” He said while walking back to the rock they had been sitting on and sat down on it again, his feet dangling in the water. Chan dipped down in the water to rinse off the seaweed, and when he surfaced he was pouting up at Woojin.

“Here I go trying to proposition you for sex and you push me into the water.” He grumbled, and Woojin felt his ears heat up slightly.

“Does that work on other merpeople?” He asked, and Chan shook his head, also blushing slightly.

“I can’t say yes without lying.” He answered quietly, and Woojin giggled; he gestured to the merman to come closer, and Chan half swam, half crawled up to him until he was resting his arms on Woojin’s knees, his head on them. Woojin was quiet as he watched him, entranced by his fluid movements.

“What were we talking about… Right! You were trying to proposition me for sex?” Woojin asked with a small smirk, enjoying how Chan’s face turned purple.

“Just a suggestion.” He said awkwardly, and Woojin ran a hand through the merman’s bangs and pushed them away from his forehead.

“In the sea? On a public beach, in the middle of the night?” Woojin’s smug expression grew as he talked, and Chan pouted up at him. “Kinky.” He added, and got some water flung on him in return.

“What can I say, you’re hot.” Woojin chuckled, leaning down so he could kiss Chan; the merman responded eagerly, raising himself up with the water so they were more evenly leveled.

“If you can keep it in your pants for a while-” Woojin started as he pulled away “-we could always go home first.” He said, and Chan shrugged cutely, combing through his hair as he spoke.

“Depends on if you want merman dick or not.” He said, and heat spread through Woojin’s body as he said that. 

“I would ask you to show me but again, we’re in public.” He breathed out, and Chan smiled up at him before sinking down in the water again.

“There’s a small underwater cave nearby, is that secluded enough for you?” He asked, and Woojin bit his lip.

“Yeah.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so?? what did'ya think?? and yes, next chapter will have the merfucking, look forward to that


	3. Part Of Your World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Did you just kiss Jeongin?” Woojin asked, eyebrows lifted at the flustered merman. 
> 
> “I kissed him on the cheek and then he got completely red in the face and started hitting me!” Hyunjin whined, and Chan hid his grin behind his hand.
> 
> “Why do you only hang out with gay mermen hyung?” Jeongin complained from the living room.
> 
> “I’m not gay!” Felix shouted, embarassment obvious in his tone.
> 
> “You’ve been drooling over Changbin forever!” Hyunjin shouted back.
> 
> “So have you!” Came the response, making Hyunjin flush.
> 
> “Can you stop fucking yelling!?” Woojin burst out, and the others went quiet; and then Chan started laughing, everyone soon following suit. Woojin rolled his eyes, smiling at the idiots he had chosen to surround himself with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i am  
back
> 
> i got a spurt to finish this! and here it is! the promised merfucking

The bubble of air that Chan had given him in case he needed it before they surfaced in the cave turned out to be useless, as it was closer than Chan had thought.

“Oh it’s like a beach in here!” Woojin said quietly, sitting down with a ‘thump’ on the small space of sand. Chan smiled and laid down next to him, and the heavy lust present in his face made Woojin feel hot all over.

“So, sex on this beach?” Chan said with his tongue between his teeth, and Woojin giggled nervously.

“I-well, we don’t have condoms. Or like mercondoms or whatever.” He said, accepting Chan’s hand in his and feeling soothed when the merman rubbed a thumb against his fingers.

“Since we’re different species I can’t get you pregnant, and any STDs wouldn’t be able to transfer, so you don’t have to worry about that.” He said, and Woojin let out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding.

“I’m practically sterile but there’s always that small chance, so it’s nice to know I’m safe.” He said, sliding down so he was lying on his side and facing Chan. Chan’s smile grew, and he leaned in and kissed Woojin gently, on the corner of his mouth. Woojin smiled, throwing his leg over Chan’s tail and rolling over so he was straddling him.

Chan stared up at him for a second, and then smiled coyly. Woojin was about to ask what he was grinning about, and then felt something slimy press against his crotch.

He squealed, jumping up and nearly falling into the water again. Chan laughed loudly at him, and Woojin could only stare down at his crotch, where two tentacles where wiggling around.

“What the fuck?” He burst out, and Chan winked at him.

“Merman dick!” He said with an overly jovial voice, and Woojin huffed.

“I can’t believe I’m about to fuck you.” He mumbled, mostly to himself, but shoved his bathing shorts down and kicked them farther up on the strip of sand. Chan was full on ogling from underneath him, but Woojin couldn’t complain. He squatted down to straddle Chan’s crotch again, but hesitated. Chan seemed to notice, because he rubbed Woojin’s hip and smiled at him

“Sit down and I’ll do the job, okay?” He reassured, and Woojin did as he was told, shuddering when he felt Chan’s tentacles slide against his dick.

“It feels weird.” Woojin mumbled, leaning back and steadying himself against Chan’s tail. The merman smiled up at him, a toothy grin, and then slowly pushed in one tentacle. Woojin’s mouth fell open, and he could only grunt out breaths as the limb stretched farther and farther into him. He involuntarily clenched down, and the sudden stimulation shocked a moan out of his chest. Chan stroked his hip and smiled up at him.

“You okay?” He asked, and Woojin nodded, biting down hard on his lip. He leaned forward and steadied himself against Chan’s chest.

“I’m just- fuck -I’ve not been like, penetrated in the front in many years.” He mumbled, and Chan pulled him down to kiss him.

“So you don’t want the second one too?” He asked into his mouth, and Woojin shook his head with a laugh.

“Not in the front at least. But it’s, it feels good. It feels really good.” He said, and Chan kissed him again, slipping his tongue in between his lips and surprising him with how long it was. Chan’s mouth distracted him, so he barely noticed when the second tentacle started prodding at his asshole.

“Can I go in here too?” Chan whispered, and when Woojin nodded he pushed in, and Woojin collapsed, pushing his face against Chan’s chest. It didn’t hurt, since Chan had somehow made the tentacle thinner and with the natural lubrication on his skin made it slide in with ease.

“Shit.” Woojin hissed, clumsily rocking his hips back in search for even more stimulation, and his moans echoed through the cave when he found a particularly good angle. Chan was breathing heavily, thrusting up into him with his tongue lolling out onto his cheek.

“You’re so tight, ah, it feels amazing.” He moaned, and when Woojin tightened even more around him he let out one long, uninterrupted groan, and suddenly Woojin’s cunt was filled with something very warm. He shuddered at the sensation, and then let out a straight up whimper; the bases of Chan’s tentacles swelled up inside of him, locking him firmly onto the merman.

“Wh-what just happened?” He mumbled in shock, sitting up and attempting to look at his crotch. Chan chuckled awkwardly.

“I just… came. And now we’ll be stuck like this for a little bit.” He explained, and Woojin laughed too, covering his mouth with his hand.

He experimentally moved his hips in a circle, continuing when he found that he liked the sensation. Chan squirmed underneath him, but made no move to stop him. Keeping eye contact, Woojin reached down and started rubbing his dick. He was already close from the sensation, so it didn’t take long until his orgasm pushed through him in waves, and he doubled over as he rode it out.

“That was hot.” Chan said quietly into his ear, and Woojin pushed himself up a little to smile at him.

“You’re quite hot too.” He quipped, grinning when Chan covered his face with both hands, ears turning purple.

They sat like that until Chan’s knot deflated, and Woojin could stand up on wobbly legs. Immediately off-white slime dripped out of him, and Chan laughed when he slapped his hand over his hole to stop the flow.

“You’re a jerk.” Woojin mumbled, face red, and Chan smiled up at him. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and then the strangest Woojin had ever seen happened; Chan retracted his tentacles, and the slit where they had protuded closed up. It almost looked like nothing had ever been there.

Chan seemed to notice him staring, because he patted the spot next to him, wanting him to sit down. Woojin did so, with wobbly legs, and immediately leaned heavily on Chan.

“I don’t think I’m gonna be able to walk home by myself.” Woojin mumbled after a comfortable silence, and Chan patted his thigh.

“It’s alright, I’ll carry you.”

They stumbled into the apartment when the sun was peaking over the horizon, hands clasped and voices hushed. They walked as silently as possible past Jeongin’s room, not wanting to wake the two younger men sleeping in there. They both let out sighs of relief when they closed the door around them, and Chan flopped down on Woojin’s bed.

“This is way better than my bed.” Woojin giggled quietly, stripping off his shirt and throwing it in his laundry bag, before he started rummaging through his closet to find his favorite underwear.

“What’s your bed made of? Algae?” Chan scrunched up his face, rolling over so he was lying on his back, looking at Woojin upside down.

“We can’t lay down in the water, so we have small holes in the wall that we can close up a bit and just float in as we sleep.” Woojin smiled at the mental image.

“You need to change clothes.” Chan whined, pouting up at him.

“Can’t I just sleep naked? Clothes are overrated anyway.” Woojin threw a pair of boxers at him, hitting him square in the face.

“No sleeping naked in my bed. Put those on.” Chan grumbled, but did as he said, and the silence as they slipped out of their bathing shorts and hung them on the drying rack Woojin had by his window was comforting. They pulled on the underwear, Chan making a remark that they made Woojin’s butt look good and earning himself a kiss on the cheek.

They got comfortable under the light blanket, not intending to sleep for long, just nap a few hours or less. Woojin had Chan cradled against his chest, his lips against his brown curls.

“I think Felix and Hyunjin will want to meet you.” Chan mumbled, finger tracing a faint scar on Woojin’s collarbone.

“Do they have to approve of me before you can court me?” He teased, bringing the merman’s hand up to his mouth, planting kisses on each of the knuckles. Chan giggled at the feeling.

“It’s more that they will feel it’s unfair, seeing as I have your met your closest, but they haven’t even met you.” Woojin hummed, interlacing their fingers. His hands were longer and broader, and had scars from roughhousing and that time he tried to teach himself knife flipping. Chan’s were paler, and completely smooth. He remembered what he had said about his scars, and the earrings.

“I would love to meet them.”

“I’ll ask if they want to come with me after the ball, if that’s okay with you?” 

“Sounds good to me. I bet Jeongin and Seungmin would be happy to meet them too.” Silence fell over them, as they watched the sun filter through Woojin’s window, which was half occupied with houseplants. They could hear bird song, and the whispers of the wind, and they fell asleep like that, in peaceful happiness.

“Oh my god, look at them, they’re so cute.” A sharp hush was heard, and then the snap of a phone camera. Woojin was half awake, but he pretended he couldn’t hear them, snuggling closer to the warm body of his prince.

He heard the foot steps, and the telltale sound of crutches on hardwood floor, move out of his room, the door closing with a soft ‘click’. 

He pushed himself up on his elbow, the rest of his body held down by the merman wrapped around him. Woojin smiled down at Chan, taking in the calm, near innocent expression on his face. He leant down, softly kissing his lips, then his cheeks, his forehead, continuing planting kisses all over his face until he woke up.

“Morning.” Chan mumbled, a lazy smile grazing his features. He returned the kiss, and then untangled himself from his knight. 

“Good morning.” Woojin sat up, and Chan snaked his arms around his waist. “Jeongin has probably opened up with Seungmin, but I do need to go down and work.” He made to swing his legs over the side of the bed, but the arms around him tightened.

“But I want to cuddle.” Woojin laughed, prying Chan’s arms away from him and standing up before he could be captured again.

“I’ll give you free cheesecake if you get dressed and come down with me.” That made Chan sit up straighter, and then get out of bed with minimal grumbling. Woojin laughed at the merman, and with a few more convincing kisses they were dressed. Woojin was wearing the usual work outfit, a short sleeved blue shirt and light jeans. Chan had borrowed another hoodie, opting to just put on his bathing shorts again. He was going to have to change anyway, he argued, so he might as well make it easy for himself.

There were already a few customers in the café, Seungmin helping out his boyfriend when he needed it. Chan kissed Woojin on the cheek before sitting down at one of the small tables, studying the patterned table cloth.

“Next time you decide to sleep in I won’t cover for you.” Seungmin said with a cheeky grin as he passed the apron he had been wearing to Woojin, and the older man pushed at his shoulder. 

“Thanks.” He said nonetheless. He cut a large slice of cheesecake and brought it - with a glass of watermelon juice - to Chan, who smiled up at him like he had hung the stars in the sky.

It was unusually busy, a lot of tourists coming in and ordering pastries and juice in weak Korean. When they closed up for lunch, Chan walked up to Woojin and enveloped him in a hug.

“I have to go, my knight. I need to get ready for the ball.” He pecked him on the lips, and Woojin smiled.

“Have fun, my prince.” He and Jeongin waved him off through the window, and he grinned widely at them, before dashing down the street.

They made lunch in the apartment, setting the table on their balcony that faced the street. Seungmin had texted and told them that he had extra work and couldn’t join them for lunch, punctuated with a line of sad emojis. Jeongin sent back a message that was two thirds heart emojis and a third text; Woojin laughed when the younger man showed the conversation to him.

The food didn’t take long to make; it was just rice and fried beef, but they were very hungry from work, so they practically inhaled it. Woojin put the dishes into the dishwasher while Jeongin took the elevator down to the café to open up again. 

He lingered in the living room, looking fondly at the pictures hanging on their wall. There were so many memories they had made over the years, and only a select few of them had been captured. He took down the Polariod camera from its place on the shelf, bringing it down with him to the café. 

“Woojin hyung! Can you get some more cheesecake from the fridge?” Jeongin called, too busy with refilling the cookie platters to look up at him. Woojin snapped a picture of him, making the younger look up at the ‘click’ of the camera. He scowled at him and Woojin just smiled, placing the photograph and the camera next to the fridge as he complied with the request.

He kept taking photos through out the afternoon, mostly when Jeongin was focused on something else, but also of the café. They had redecorated at the beginning of the summer, and Woojin really liked the results. Instead of the pastel yellow accents on the white background they had painted the walls blue, with details of green. The door was his favorite; green instead of the original beige colour, with small intricate flowers painted on the edges, curling around the window. 

They were supposed to be closing up, but Jeongin was on the phone with Seungmin and Woojin wanted to take pictures of the café interior, now that he didn’t have to worry about customers coming in. 

He was crouched down, trying to get a good angle of the sunlight falling in through the door’s window, when Chan stepped in. The moment was perfect, so he snapped a photo before really registering that it was Chan. When he lowered the camera, however, it hit him like a truck.

Because his prince was standing in front of him, with flowers tangled in his curls, in a soft flowy dress, and Woojin suddenly forgot how to breathe. He fell down on his butt, only able to stare up at him.

“Love? Are you okay?” Chan kneeled next to him, and he looked so worried, obviously scared he’d done something wrong again. Woojin could only stare, dumbfounded.

“You’re wearing a dress.” He said and Jeongin peaked out from behind the counter at his exclamation, eyes widening when he saw the merman. He relayed what was happening to Seungmin, but Woojin couldn’t care less about that at the moment.

“Yes? It’s traditional merfolk wear.” Chan stood, dragging the human up with him.

“It’s beautiful.” Woojin’s voice had softened, quieted, and he pulled him in for a kiss. 

“Don’t be gross!” Jeongin screeched, but Woojin just flipped him off, before breaking away from Chan.

“Felix and Hyunjin will be here. They wanted to change clothes first.” Chan said and skipped over to Jeongin, hugging him and saying hello to Seungmin on the phone. Woojin captured the moment with a ‘click’, putting the developing picture next to the others he had taken, along with the camera.

“Seungmin, when will you be here?” Woojin asked as he sat down next Jeongin; he could hear fabric rustling on the other end, and he assumed the younger man was getting changed.

“Five minutes maybe? Is everyone there already?” There was a hint of worry in his voice, but Jeongin was quick to soothe it. He didn’t like making people wait for him, so they always tried to arrange so that he wouldn’t be last. One time Woojin got stuck in traffic on purpose so he could come later than the younger man.

They said goodbye to him, teasing him warmly for the nasal tone his voice took on. Jeongin continued messing with him for a minute, while Chan and Woojin finished putting up chairs and closing the windows. 

Woojin couldn’t help when his gaze slid to the merman’s clothes while they were working; it was a sundress, hitting just under the knee, and made of a soft material that seemed to float. It was green, and it glinted like the ocean in the sunlight. Chan moved like he was dancing, and his bracelets clinked like wind chimes.

Jeongin had connected his phone to the speaker system, playing trot songs he liked. Their little musical interlude was interrupted when Seungmin walked in, barely greeting them as he went straight for his boyfriend, who of course complained loudly with small smile on his face. Woojin and Chan just smiled, waving playfully to Jeongin when he called for help.

“Chan?” The voice came from the door, and all four of them turned to see their visitors; Chan stood up immediately to bring them farther in.

“Finally! We’ve been waiting forever, Lix.” Chan teased, poking one of them - shorter, orange hair and freckles - in the ribs. Woojin assumed that must be his brother, Felix, which meant that the taller black haired one-

“Hyunjin!?” The exclamation came from Seungmin, who had stood up from where he was sitting next to Jeongin, staring at said merman in wide eyed shock. Hyunjin, in turn, stared back, plush lips fallen open in equal amounts of surprise.

“Wait, you two know each other?”

“He’s the one that’s been teaching me dance for two years! Y’know Innie, the cute one I told you about?” Both Jeongin and Hyunjin blushed at that, but Seungmin ignored it in favor of continuing to speak. “I’ve known you for two years and you didn’t tell me you’re a merman?” He pouted, crossing his arms over his chest, and Woojin swallowed down a laugh.

“Well it doesn’t exactly come up in normal conversation does it?” Hyunjin stepped closer to Felix, grabbing onto his sleeve.

“Still. We never have normal conversations!” Seungmin didn’t let up, just kept eye contact with the tall merman, who giggled nervously. “We had an half hour conversation on how to have sex in a wheelch-” The young man was interrupted when his boyfriend grabbed him around the waist and pulled him down, clamping a hand over his mouth.

“Stop bringing up our sex life to people, Seungminnie!” Jeongin hissed into his ear, obviously a little embarassed. Woojin stepped in, clapping his hands together to bring the attention to him.

“We’ll leave the love birds to sort this out for themselves. We’ll be upstairs, okay?” Jeongin gave him a mumbled ‘sure hyung’, letting go of his boyfriend’s face. Chan grabbed both Felix and Hyunjin’s wrists, dragging them with him to the door leading to the second floor.

“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew him?” Chan hissed to Hyunjin as soon as the door closed around them, and said merman winced.

“I didn’t know we were talking about the same Seungmin!” They started making their way up the stairs, Woojin and Felix a few steps ahead to give them space to bicker.

“How many men named Seungmin with goofy smiles and a cute boyfriend who uses a wheelchair can there be in one small town?” Woojin shared a knowing look with the freckled merman next to him, and they burst out in laughter, prompting the two others to grill them for it. They continued the argument into the apartment, even as they all settled down around the dining table. It shifted, from Hyunjin’s secret keeping to how Felix had snuck out of the ball half way through to hang out with his friend, and how Hyunjin had swum around in panic looking for him. Felix countered that with when Chan had gotten drunk on algae wine and had been stranded for an hour on a public beach until Felix had stumbled upon him, sleeping with his tail curled around him. Chan blushed and slapped his arm, telling Woojin animatedly about Felix’s failed attempts to make a singing bouquet for his current crush, which had his brother whining and hiding his face in his hands. Hyunjin giggled, interjecting with a story about how the two brothers had tried to smuggle an octopus into their room as children but the animal had gotten stuck to Felix’s back, leaving hundreds of red marks on his skin. 

Seungmin stepped in during the octopus story, Jeongin right behind him with a tired smile on his face. They seated themselves quietly next to Woojin, their pinkies linked together.

They fought sometimes, of course. Tension wasn’t uncommon between them, but usually it would just result in aggressive makeouts; sometimes however, they would fight, and it would get quiet and awkward for a while.

Woojin smiled encouragingly at them, and then jumped back into the conversation with the story of how Jeongin had his first kiss with Woojin and how his braces had cut the older on the lip. That snapped Seungmin out of his grumpiness, that story always being able to bring a laugh out of him.

They talked like that for a while, sharing embarrassing and funny stories from their lives. Jeongin and Hyunjin warmed up to each other quickly, and Seungmin noticed it in delight. The three of them quickly separated from the rest to play Mario Kart, and Felix soon joined to watch them, leaving Woojin and Chan in the kitchen.

“How did the ball go? Apart from Felix sneaking away.” Woojin asked, scooting closer to Chan. The merman smiled, wrapping his ankle around Woojin’s.

“It went well. Dad was really proud, but Mom had to leave right before the ceremony since something came up. Felix did leave early since he wanted time to do his makeup before meeting you.” 

“He wanted to impress me?” Woojin asked with laugh, scooting his chair closer.

“Apparently you’re cool, based on what I told him. Can’t see it personally.” Chan teased, earning himself a pinch on the arm.

“You’re lying. You think I’m super cool.” Woojin teased, and darted his tongue out at him. 

“I do.” Chan answered with a giggle, and leaned in to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth. They leaned their foreheads together, sighing happily.

“Do you want to sleep over? I mean, Hyunjin and Felix too? We have an extra futon.” Chan smiled, shifting his head so he could rub their noses together.

“They would love it.”

“Hyung, Jeongin cheated again!” Seungmin shouted from the living room.

“Well tell him to stop then!” Woojin answered, but Seungmin made a frustrated noise.

“He’s not listening!” Woojin shared a look with Chan and rolled his eyes fondly, and the merman giggled.

“Jeongin ah! Listen to your boyfriend!” He shouted, and Jeongin shouted back a complaint instead.

“He won’t kiss me Woojin hyung! He’s been refusing my kisses!” Woojin sighed, rubbing a face down his face.

“Can someone just kiss the baby?” Chan shouted. For a beat it was quiet, and then they heard chaos erupt; Felix and Seungmin laughing hysterically, Jeongin sputtering about something, and then Hyunjin ran into the kitchen, hands slapped over his red face.

“Did you just kiss Jeongin?” Woojin asked, eyebrows lifted at the flustered merman. 

“I kissed him on the cheek and then he got completely red in the face and started hitting me!” Hyunjin whined, and Chan hid his grin behind his hand.

“Why do you only hang out with gay mermen hyung?” Jeongin complained from the living room.

“I’m not gay!” Felix shouted, embarassment obvious in his tone.

“You’ve been drooling over Changbin forever!” Hyunjin shouted back.

“So have you!” Came the response, making Hyunjin flush.

“Can you stop fucking yelling!?” Woojin burst out, and the others went quiet; and then Chan started laughing, everyone soon following suit. Woojin rolled his eyes, smiling at the idiots he had chosen to surround himself with.

Woojin was standing in the kitchen, sipping tea, when Felix peaked in. His hair was ruffled and he was wearing one of Jeongin’s shirts. They had pulled their guest futon out from Jeongin’s closet and put it on his floor, Seungmin insisting that they slept in the youngest’s room with them. Hyunjin was apparently a real cuddle monster, and didn’t want Felix to sleep on the couch, so he had convinced him to share the futon with him. 

“Hey.” Woojin lifted his mug in greeting, and Felix stepped in properly.

“Hey, uh. You know that Chan has talked about you to me?” Woojin nodded and Felix held up his clenched fist and opened it, revealing an earring made of a small conch shell. “He explained your binder? And I was thinking maybe you would like this?” He handed it over, and Woojin inspected it in confusion, putting his mug down. “It’s a glamour of a kind.”

“What would it do?” 

“It would conceal your chest. So it would look like mine, or- hey are you crying?” Woojin put down his mug and pulled the merman into a hug. 

“Thank you.” He whispered, and he could feel a hand rubbing along his back.

“No problem, Woojin.” They pulled away from each other, and Woojin unclipped the earring in his left ear and inserted the conch. 

It tingled immensely, electricity running around his chest and shoulders. The air shimmered; he could see his chest morph under his shirt, the fat tissue melting down and away. 

“Woah.” He breathed out, hands coming up to touch his chest in disbelief. Without a moment of hesitation he pulled his shirt off, tears lining his eyes again as he could finally see it properly. Tan, smooth skin; gently curved over the muscle but nothing more. He hugged Felix again, wetting the other’s t-shirt as he held onto him.

“Hyung?” Seungmin peaked his head in, eyes widening when he saw the pair and Woojin’s shirt on the floor.

“Seungmin. Look.” Woojin broke away, proudly showing his chest to the younger man. Seungmin’s eye widened, mouth falling open slightly.

“How-how did you do that, hyung?” 

“I made a glamour for him!” Felix said excitedly. “Chan talked to me about it, and I decided to try and make it for him.” Seungmin clapped his hands together and hugged Felix, who accepted it in slight surprise. 

“I’m gonna surprise Chan with it.” Woojin said before grabbing his shirt and running to his room, where the merman was lying with the blanket between his legs, snoring softly.

He crawled onto the bed, positioning himself so he was facing the merman. He scooted in close, wrapping a leg over the other’s hip.

“Mhm, hi baby.” Chan mumbled, snaking his arms around Woojin’s waist. Woojin took one hand and pulled it further up, resting it on his collar bone instead. Chan stirred, slowly blinking his eyes open. He smiled when his gaze landed on the man’s face, pulling him closer to kiss him.

“Hello my prince.” Woojin breathed when they broke away, purposefully pressing their chests together. Chan knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, looking down before looking up with an overjoyed face.

“Felix actually did it?” Woojin nodded, and Chan pulled him into a tight hug. “Woojin! I’m so happy for you.” The merman loosened his grip but tangled their legs together, pulling the blanket over the both of them.

“We should go swimming again. Wonder how it feels to swim without boobs.” Chan giggled, resting his hand over the man’s heart.

“We’re always going swimming my knight, shouldn’t we try something else for a date?” Chan teased.

“We could go swimming but you keep the necklace on. Feel what it’s like to be human.” Woojin teased back, and Chan huffed.

“I don’t know how to swim like a human! Why would I know how to do that, I’m a merman!” Chan pouted, and Woojin couldn’t help but laugh, kissing him on the cheek.

“Have Felix make a necklace for me that gives me a tail, and we’ll be on equal grounds then.” Chan kicked him in the shin for his words, as well as you can do that when you’ve interlocked your legs.

“Go to sleep babe.” Chan grumbled and Woojin smiled at him, his prince, and closed his eyes as he snuggled closer to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> right... here we are. i dont have much to say?? comment and tell me what you think maybe??
> 
> [my twitter!](https://twitter.com/toothywoochan)  
[my curiouscat!](https://curiouscat.me/toothywoochan)


	4. Splash

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Did you want to talk about something?” He asked, taking in the nervous stance of the man in front of him.
> 
> “Do you think Hyunjin likes me?” Seungmin asked abruptly, twisting at the hems of his sleeves. 
> 
> “Yeah? He seems like he does.” Seungmin nodded at Woojin’s answer, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. 
> 
> “He’s been kinda weird hyung. At dance he often just stares at me, and he seems more nervous around me? I don’t know if I’m reading the situation right.” Woojin wrapped an arm around him, rubbing his hand across the other’s shoulder to soothe him.
> 
> “He’s acting like many people do when they have a crush, but he doesn’t seem like the kinda guy to push someone with his feelings.” Seungmin nodded, enveloping Woojin in a hug.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uh, hi. i was thinking abt this fic again and realised there was a chapter in the drafts! just ready to be edited and given to all you lovely folks. here you go, happy new year

It was a few weeks after that sleepover that Felix suggested that they all go swimming together.

“You and Woojin are always going, Chan. We want to see the beach too!” They were eating lunch all together, steak and mashed potatoes that Chan had cooked in the apartment while Jeongin and Woojin were working. Seungmin, Felix and Hyunjin had arrived a few minutes before closing, laughing loudly at something Felix had just said. They were sitting in the living room, since they might be able to fit six grown men and mermen - and a wheelchair - around the dining table but not with the addition of plates and food. Jeongin was in his wheelchair next to the couch, where Seungmin and Hyunjin were sitting, all three talking about which Disney princess was best, with Felix and Woojin occasionally butting in.Chan was mostly quiet, only nodding along as he shoved his mouth full of potatoes and meat.

“I guess we can. How are we all going to get there though? Woojin’s boat won’t fit all six of us.” Chan said after swallowing his mouthful of food.

“We can swim along the boat!” Hyunjin chimed in, and Seungmin nodded enthusiastically.

“But what about your wheelchair Jeongin? That wouldn’t fit in the boat, and it would be useless on sand.” Chan said, obviously concerned with how he would come along.

“I can bring my crutches instead! And my floatie. Woojin hyung usually carries me to the beach anyway.” Hyunjin giggled, cooing at the younger.

“But can you swim? Are your legs strong enough?” Chan sounded worried, putting his empty plate down on the coffee table and looking at Jeongin.

“I can swim better than I can walk hyung, you don’t have to worry. You will all be there anyway if I need help, right?” Hyunjin and Felix nodded, the latter reaching over and patting Chan on the shoulder to reassure him. 

They cleaned up, Hyunjin, Felix and Chan taking care of the dishes while the humans went to pull the floatie and other beach things out of the cupboard in the hallway.

“I wanna build sand castles hyung! We should bring the molding buckets.” Seungmin said as he brought said buckets down, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

“Sounds good. Jeongin, donut or tire?” Woojin said, holding up the two deflated and folded up floaties.

“We should bring both, in case anyone else wants to try it.” Woojin nodded, placing both of them in the basket that Jeongin had in his lap. Seungmin put all of their buckets in, along with two spades.

“Do you have a beach ball?” Felix shouted from the kitchen; Seungmin shouted yes back, tossing the deflated package into the basket too.

“I’ll go put up the sign hyung, be right back.” Jeongin wheeled out to the elevator as he spoke, sticking his tongue out when Seungmin pouted and made grabby hands at him. They had a sign they could put up if they wanted to close up early, that Jeongin hade made for Woojin’s birthday a few years earlier. It said ‘Closed Early, Come Back Tomorrow’ in neat Hangul. They only used it for special occasions, or when both of them were sick.

“Oh, we get a long afternoon?” Seungmin asked, and when Woojin nodded he vocalised giddily, sounding not unlike a whale.

“Where’s the humpback?” Felix shouted, making the younger man scowl and shout back something incoherent.

The walk to the beach was loud and fun filled, everyone carrying something - or in Woojin’s case, someone. Seungmin and Chan were carrying a basket each, one with food, and one with beach toys. Felix had a backpack with their drinks and Hyunjin had a tote bag with spare clothes and towels. Jeongin was carrying a smaller tote bag with a waterproof Bluetooth speaker, his crutches strapped onto his back. Woojin was walking just fine with the younger on his back, but despite this Chan was fussing over them, asking constantly if they needed to stop and rest.

“I promise you I’m fine baby. I’ve done this before.” Chan pouted, but Jeongin reached out and pinched his cheek.

“I don’t weigh that much hyung, it’s fine.” He added.

“Just tell me if it gets too heavy, I can switch with you.” Woojin rolled his eyes but smiled at his prince.

They loaded the boat, helping Jeongin down before setting the bags down around him. Seungmin sat next to him, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him steady.

“Wait, where are you going to go and transform?” Woojin asked, eyebrows furrowed as he looked at the three mermen standing on the jetty.

“There’s a cave a little further away where we keep stuff like clothes. We usually transform there.” Felix explained as they pulled their long t-shirts off, leaving them in their bathing shorts. They rolled the shirts up and tossed them to Seungmin, who stuffed them into the tote bag with the other clothes.

“Should we meet up further out? So no one sees you.” Chan nodded at Woojin’s question, stepping forward and kissing him on the mouth.

“We’ll find you, just get far out enough.” The mermen walked back to the beach, waving as they walked across the sand. Woojin untied the rope and got into the boat, pushing them away from the jetty before starting the motor. 

They rode in silence at first, appreciating the sun shining down at them and the smell of salt in their nostrils. Jeongin was the first to break the silence.

“I wonder what they will look like as mermen.” He wondered aloud, letting his hand drag through the water spray.

“Chan looks amazing, his eyes turn blue.” Woojin supplied, and Seungmin grinned at him.

“Of course you would say that, you’re his boyfriend.” Woojin looked around, realising that they were sufficiently far out and turning the engine off.

“You’re just jealous.” Their conversation was interrupted by a purple tail breaching the surface and splashing water over them. They all screeched, expecting to be hit with the droplets but they never came. Woojin looked up, laughing when he realised the liquid was suspended in the air above them. A vaguely familiar but unfamiliar pair of eyes peered up at him, black hair floating like a crown around Hyunjin’s head. 

“His eyes are purple, Innie! Look!” Jeongin giggled at his boyfriend’s excitement, squeezing his thigh in agreement. Hyunjin pushed himself further out of the water, smiling at them as he made the water come back down without landing on them.

“Where are the others, hyung?” Jeongin asked.

“They’ll be here in a few minutes. I’m faster than both of them.” The merman grinned, lifting himself even further up and hanging on the side of the boat, manipulating the water so he wasn’t at risk of overturning them. He had scales scattered across his face, just like Chan, but his didn’t shimmer in the same way in the sun.

“Few minutes my ass.” A deep voice said behind them, and when Woojin turned around Felix was hanging on the other side, previously brown eyes glowing orange. The scales on his face matched his dyed hair perfectly, and he suspected that wasn’t an accident.

“But what about Chan though?” Seungmin asked, looking around for the oldest merman.

“What about me?” The voice came from the front of the boat, where Chan had hoisted himself up and was hanging, tail flicking back and forth behind him.

“Okay, we’re all here then.” Woojin smiled. “Chan, do you want to use you water woo woo to get us to the beach fast?” The merman rolled his eyes, but let go of the prow and sank back down into the water.

“You don’t have to turn on the engine, we will take care of this.” He assured, and as if on cue, all the three mermen disappeared from the surface. It was still and quiet for a beat, but then boat started moving, nearly making Woojin fall off. Seungmin and Jeongin laughed, sticking their hands out in the spray of water around them.

It was quite a beautiful day, only a few clouds in the sky. It was warm, but not sweltering, and there was a slight breeze ruffling their hair and clothes.

They soon reached the bay, Felix and Hyunjin coming up to the surface and letting Chan push it the rest of the way in.

Woojin jumped out when they got knee deep. Seungmin got out with him to push the boat up on the sandy beach, and Jeongin giggled as it rocked with him still in it.

Meanwhile, the three mermen pulled themselves out of the water, dragging themselves as far up on the beach as they could. Chan distributed their bathing shorts from his bag among them, all pulling out their necklaces and clipping them on. Jeongin and Seungmin watched amazed, only to turn away, blushing; the transformation was complete, leaving three very naked ‘human’ mermen on the beach. Woojin laughed, turning away as well to give them privacy, occupying himself with getting their things out of the boat.

Seungmin helped lift Jeongin out, placing him on the picnic blanket that Woojin had rolled out. Seungmin dug through the basket, pulling out the inflatables and handing the beach ball to Felix - who was dressed and only slightly damp - and took the donut floatie for himself. They started blowing them up, Hyunjin giggling at their puffed up cheeks. Seungmin was visibly flustered at the attention, but was distracted by his boyfriend poking at his shoulder to get a kiss.

“I’m going in!” Woojin shouted, toeing off his shoes and throwing his t-shirt at them, before sprinting down to the water, diving in as soon as it was deep enough. 

It was amazing, swimming topless with no resistance. He had to go up to the surface to shout his excitement to the others. They laughed, waving at him as he dived down again, running his hands down his chest. 

“_ Hello my knight _.” The words echoed through Woojin’s head, causing him to scream - inhaling a lot of water in the process - and push himself out of the water in panic. He stumbled a little on the gravelly sea bottom, coughing violently to get the salt water out of his lungs. He felt a familiar sensation of suspended water steadying him, and he glared at Chan as soon as he opened his eyes.

“You scared the shit out of me! How do you do that?” The merman chuckled, unfazed by his knight’s shouting.

“Do what?” 

“Speak in my head like that!” Chan wrapped his arms around Woojin, letting the water move properly again. 

“_Like this?_” Chan said, but his mouth only opened without a noise. Woojin hit him on the chest, grumbling at him with a small smile.

“That’s so weird.”

“It’s how we communicate with each other underwater.” He then turned his head towards the beach, and everyone’s head snapped towards the two as he spoke telepathically to them. “_ Hey guys!” _ Jeongin and Seungmin looked at all three mermen in confusion.

“_Yeah?_” Hyunjin spoke back, making Seungmin whip his head towards him.

“_Just proving a point to Woojin!_” Chan waved at them.

“That’s really weird!” Jeongin shouted, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend, who looked very confused. 

“Sorry!” Chan shouted, and Woojin took the opportunity to put his hands on the merman’s shoulders and push him down in the water, hurrying to swim away before he could surface again. He could hear Seungmin and Felix laughing in the distance, and he smiled to himself as he swam away from him.

Woojin breached, and he could see Chan swimming at top speed towards him. He yelped, fruitlessly trying to get away, but strong arms were wrapped around him, and before he knew it he was pulled underwater. He held his breath, letting himself be dragged through the water and then thrown out of it.

“You’re a jerk!” He heard as he flew through the air, along with screams and laughter from the beach. He prepared himself mentally for the impact, but it never came. He opened his eyes, gasping at how he found himself cradled in midair by the water.

“Holy shit, how are you doing that?!” Jeongin screamed, and Woojin could see him flailing where he was sitting on the picnic blanket.

Chan was the one controlling the water, of course, but Woojin hadn’t expected him to be able to control this amount of water. The mass holding him was twice, or maybe even thrice the size of him, suspending him about a meter above the surface.

“Put me down or I swear I’m never making you watermelon juice again!” He shouted, and the threat was enough to make him gently lower him back down, embracing him when he got there.

“You deserved that.” Chan mumbled into his shoulder, and Woojin didn’t argue back.

“Hyung, I’m coming in!” Jeongin shouted from the beach, and Woojin broke away to see him get carried into the water by Hyunjin, Seungmin walking next to them with the donut floatie. It was placed down, and then Jeongin was lowered into it, happily pushing himself out to the depths. 

“Are you coming in Seungminnie?” Chan shouted, but the man just shook his head.

“Me and Hyunjin are building sand castles!” Said merman waved, and they waded back to land. Jeongin swam up to them, grinning widely and grabbing onto Woojin’s arm.

“I want to go fast hyung! Can you throw me?” Jeongin pouted at the older man.

“I bet I can make you go faster than Woojin.” Chan butted in, mischieviously smiling as he grabbed onto the donut. 

“I’d appreciate if you didn’t try to kill him babe.” Woojin chuckled, also grabbing onto the floatie. 

“He can do it hyung. I trust him.” Jeongin patted him on the hand, and Woojin let go and stepped back a little to give them space.

Chan grabbed onto the floatie with both hands and started spinning, before letting go of the ring. Jeongin screeched as he flew through the water, shouting for more when he reached the shallows and his feet dragging on the sea floor slowed him down. Woojin and Chan threw him back and forth for a few minutes, Woojin ready to catch in case Jeongin floated too far out. 

They stopped when Jeongin got too tired, him nearly losing his grip on his floatie making Woojin step in and play responsible older brother.

“You should rest some, Jeongin.” Jeongin pouted, but let Woojin pull him to the cliff formation, where Chan was creating small waterfalls with his powers. Woojin kissed Chan on the corner of the mouth before swimming back to the beach, getting up to sit with Hyunjin and Felix, who were relaxing on the picnic blanket.

“I thought you were gonna build sand castles with Seungmin?” He asked the taller merman when sitting down, pointing at Seungmin, who was very focused on his creation. 

“He stopped talking to me. I don’t know if he got mad.” Hyunjin was fiddling with his bathing shorts, bottom lip between his teeth. “And he’s not looking me in the eye either? Do you think I did something wrong, Woojin?” Woojin shrugged his shoulders, turning his head to Seungmin.

“Seungminnie?” The man turned to him, crossing his index fingers over his mouth in an X, the sign that they had come up with for him when he was nonverbal. Woojin turned back to Hyunjin in relief. “He’s just nonverbal, it’s alright. And he never likes to look people in the eyes either.” The last statement made the merman raise an eyebrow in confusion.

“Really? But he looks me in the eyes all the time.” Woojin chuckled; he could see Seungmin duck his head down in the corner of his eye, and he had known him for long enough to know what that meant.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, but I think he needs a hug anyway. You should give him one, he told me yesterday about how he loves your hugs.” He said, and when Hyunjin stood up to walk over to Seungmin, he could see the younger man flap his hands in what he could only describe as Gay Panic. Felix laughed next to him.

Seungmin flapped his hands harder when Hyunjin kneeled down next to him, letting out small distressed grunts. Woojin knew he wasn’t actually panicking, knew he would calm down once embraced, but Hyunjin didn’t. He hesitated, pulling his arms back, making a move like he was going to stand up again, but Seungmin didn’t let him. He wrapped his arms around, pulling him down and into his lap.

“Get him tiger!” Chan shouted from the water, making Hyunjin blush even more than he was, but was distracted by Seungmin tracing a finger across his mouth. Woojin and Felix could see his face clearly, and they couldn’t help but laugh at the slightly panicked, mostly fond expression on his features.

“C-cute.” Seungmin struggled out, and Hyunjin yelped, rolling off of Seungmin’s lap. The two stared at each other for a beat, and then Seungmin started laughing, flapping his arms wildly. Woojin and Felix cackled, clutching at their stomachs and ignoring Hyunjin shouting at them. 

They got back before sunset, Hyunjin and Felix waving good bye from the water before sinking underneath the surface. Chan had left earlier to transform in the cave, promising he would get to the port as quick as possible. Hyunjin and Felix had to go home, the latter mumbling something about special training, and the three men had waved them off. They had just stepped off the jetty when Chan came jogging, hair still drying. He was wearing his sundress again, and Woojin couldn’t stop the warmth that spread through his chest when he saw him.

“Let me take Jeongin babe, you look tired.” Chan said quietly, not wanting to wake Jeongin who had fallen asleep, draped across Woojin’s back. Woojin huffed, but let him take the younger man; he was really tired, and he wanted nothing but to sink into his soft bed and sleep.

They walked in silence, Seungmin holding onto Woojin’s arm to not stumble. They stopped in front of the café, Seungmin hugging Chan and kissing Jeongin on the forehead before ushering them inside. Woojin raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Did you want to talk about something?” He asked, taking in the nervous stance of the man in front of him.

“Do you think Hyunjin likes me?” Seungmin asked abruptly, twisting at the hems of his sleeves. 

“Yeah? He seems like he does.” Seungmin nodded at Woojin’s answer, taking a deep breath and shaking his head. 

“He’s been kinda weird hyung. At dance he often just stares at me, and he seems more nervous around me? I don’t know if I’m reading the situation right.” Woojin wrapped an arm around him, rubbing his hand across the other’s shoulder to soothe him.

“He’s acting like many people do when they have a crush, but he doesn’t seem like the kinda guy to push someone with his feelings.” Seungmin nodded, enveloping Woojin in a hug.

“I promised my roommate that we were going to watch anime together today, so I have to go home. I love you hyung.” Woojin hugged back harder, mumbling an ‘I love you too puppy’ into his hair. They parted, both waving as Woojin stepped into the café and Seungmin made his way home. 

He locked the door after himself and jogged up the stairs, closing the apartment door and locking that too as he stepped into their hallway.

Chan was sitting in the living room, a sleeping Jeongin draped across his chest, his own eyes threatening to fall shut at any moment.

“Babe. Babe.” Woojin carefully shook the merman’s shoulder, and his eyes fluttered open fully.

“Can you help me get him to his bed? He didn’t want to let go of me.” Chan smoothed over Jeongin’s hair, frowning when he saw the distressed look on the younger’s face.

“He’s probably having a bad dream.” Woojin whispered back, his hand coming down to rest on Jeongin’s arm; he flinched at the touch, and Woojin bit his lip. Jeongin’s nightmares weren’t easy on anyone, but they were especially hard for him. Too often they involved Seungmin and Woojin in horrible situations, or he relived the beginning of his disability, when he didn’t understand anything and barely had a support system.

Woojin cradled him, gently lifting him from Chan’s lap. He gestured to the merman to follow him with his head, and then walked to Jeongin’s bedroom. He placed the younger man in his bed, sitting down close to him as he pulled his shirt off and wiggled out of his bathing shorts.

“Wait, are you gonna sleep in here?” Chan asked, fighting - and failing - to keep his eyes on Woojin’s face. 

“We’re gonna sleep in here, so he feels better. Cuddling always helps his nightmares.” Chan seemed to hesitate, but stripped off his dress and dropped it in the pile of Woojin’s clothes. He was wearing underwear, surprisingly, and Woojin told him to get boxers for him.

He turned back to Jeongin, who had curled up tight into himself, breaths heavy. He stroked the hair out of his face, and then gently started pulling off his clothes. Chan came back just as he had gotten the shirt off and he paused to slip his underwear on. They worked together to get his pants off, tossing them in the pile of their clothes

“Are you sure he’s okay with me in here?” Chan asked, and Woojin nodded, gesturing for him to lay down next Jeongin. 

As soon as both of them had cuddled up close to them, Jeongin started to calm down. His breathing slowed, and he relaxed his tense body. 

Chan seemed uncertain at first to touch him, but Woojin took his arm and placed it across their waists. They didn’t talk, just held each other with Jeongin in the middle. 

Falling asleep in Jeongin’s bed had been an easy affair; waking up next to him had been more difficult. 

“Hyung…” Woojin had been lying awake for a few minutes already, and when he turned his head to the younger he frowned. He had fresh tear tracks on his cheeks, and his hands were clenched up again.

“Hi Jeonginnie. Was it a bad nightmare?” The younger man nodded, untangling himself from the cuddle pile to sit up, waking Chan up too. The merman rubbed at his eyes, propping himself up on his elbow.

“Remember that doctor who told me I was making everything up? He… He was in it. And he had convinced you, and S-Seungmin that I was just lying, but then Hyunjin was there too, and he told me he didn’t believe me and I tried to run away from him but I couldn’t even stand-” A loud sob interrupted his rambling, and Woojin wrapped his arms around him, rocking them softly back and forth. “And then Felix and Chan were there, and we were swimming but I was drowning, and they just left me to die….” Chan sat up abruptly, scooting closer so he could also hug Jeongin.

“You know that we would never do that Jeongin, right? I would never do that.” Chan whispered, and Jeongin nodded, shifting so he was closer to the merman.

“Do you want some tea? Nettles and mint with a lot of honey, just how you like it.” Woojin asked, and Jeongin nodded again, letting the older man get out of bed so he could go to the kitchen.

He could hear them speaking quietly as he shuffled into the kitchen. One look at the clock told him it was five in the morning, too early for either Woojin or Jeongin to get up. They always opened the café at nine, and they never woke up before seven if they didn’t have anything special planned.

He turned on the kettle, grabbing Jeongin’s favorite mug from the dishwasher. It was a birthday gift from Seungmin, a custom ordered one. It had a drawing of a small fennec fox, curled up against a big brown dog; it had made Jeongin cry, and Woojin had gotten a pillow to the face for saying that it was their fursonas.

As the tea steeped he looked out the window. There wasn’t anyone on the streets, and he felt peaceful in such an overwhelming way. The only noises were Jeongin and Chan talking, and he couldn’t stop the smile from overtaking his features.

When he stepped back into the bedroom, mug in hand, Jeongin was sitting with his back leaned against the wall, Chan laying on his side next to him.

“Thanks hyung.” Jeongin said quietly, carefully sipping the tea as soon as it was handed to him. Woojin slid in next to him, resting his hand on the younger’s bony knee.

They sat like that, until Jeongin’s alarm started ringing. Chan turned it off before the younger man could even reach for it.

“I need to leave, but I’ll come for lunch.” The merman said as he stood up, pulling on his dress. He put one knee on the bed and kissed both men on the forehead, lingering a bit longer Woojin’s.

“We’ll see you then, babe.” They waved at him when he walked backwards out of the bedroom.

“Do you think he works?” Jeongin asked out of nowhere.

“I don’t know, maybe? He’s never talked about it.” Woojin stretched as he talked, satisfied when he could hear his spine pop. 

When Chan joined them for lunch - fried chicken - he looked tired. He was wearing jeans and a hoodie, to Woojin’s surprise. 

“Why are some humans so rude.” Chan mumbled, head on top of his folded arms on the table. They had just ordered, waiting for both Seungmin and their food. 

“What happened Chan?” Jeongin asked, his head tilted to the side.

“I went to a store today to buy ham and the cashier laughed at me! He said normal people don’t just buy only ham.” Chan glared at the table, and Woojin patted him on the shoulder. 

“Then he should see when Seungmin shops. It’s just rice and frozen chicken in bulk.” That made Jeongin let out a snort, as it was effectively true. That man could live on rice and chicken if he needed to. 

“He buys eggs every week too, on Saturdays.” Woojin chuckled at Jeongin’s addition. 

“Did I hear someone talking shit?” Jeongin’s eyes widened and he whipped around when he heard his boyfriend’s voice. Seungmin smiled, his eyes glinting, but he sat down next to Jeongin without doing anything. Woojin smiled to himself, because that meant one of two things; either Jeongin would have to pay for his words later, or something had made Seungmin exceptionally happy that day.

The food arrived not shortly after, all four chowing down in silence. Woojin was halfway through his platter when he cleared his throat, waiting for the exact moment that Seungmin was taking a sip before he spoke.

“So how was dance training with Hyunjin yesterday?” His question got the intended effect; Seungmin choked on his water, coughing loudly into his elbow. Jeongin snickered, grabbing tissues to blot up the water that had spilled.

“It was fine.” He answered, looking pointedly down at his plate. “Just fine.”

“Doesn’t sound like it was ‘just fine’ Seungmin.” Chan teased, waving a chicken thigh in front of him. The younger man just blushed, and Woojin could hear his feet bounce under the table.

“Did Hyunjin flirt with you again?” Jeongin teased, getting a pinch on the bicep from his boyfriend.

“And what if he did?” Seungmin bit back, and Woojin could hear Chan hold back a giggle. Seungmin couldn’t look intimidating, it was a fact of life.

“Are we gonna forget when Hyunjin winked at Jeongin and he dropped his phone three times in a row?” Woojin pointed out, and Jeongin glared at him.

“I told you not to mention that.” He hissed, but Woojin just smiled and ignored him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im gonna do like ive done with my new wips and actually write out what each chapter is gonna be about, and hopefully that will get this story on track again! mwah okay bye


	5. Look At Him (You Know You Do)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Hi Jeongin. What’s up?” 
> 
> “Uh, Seungmin has invited Hyunjin to hang out with us but Felix got upset ‘cause he didn’t get invited so he’s heading over to our apartment right now.” Both Woojin and Chan raised their eyebrows in surprise.
> 
> “Why is he coming here?” Chan butted in.
> 
> “He said something about a Changbin? And apparently he doesn’t want to talk to, and I quote, ‘a literal baby’. I’m only one year younger than him! What nerve he has.” Woojin and Chan giggled at Jeongin’s irritation.
> 
> “We’ll take care of him, don’t worry. Get back to your crush now.” Woojin answered, smiling when he heard the younger mutter a quick ‘good bye hyung’ and hang up the phone before Woojin could answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this was in my drafted chapters and i saw it just needed some editing, so here. take it. i have to go watch game grumps

“Hey, are you able to manipulate all types of water?” Woojin asked Chan, both lying on the sofa. The TV was on, but neither of them were watching, too caught up in each other to pay attention to anything else.

“Yeah, but I’m strongest with salt water.” Chan answered, his fingers tracing the scars on Woojin’s fingers. “How did you get this one?” He lifted up Woojin’s left hand, pointing to a long thin scar that stretched across the back of the hand.

“I fell down a hill when I was like, sixteen? And sliced up my hand on a rock.” Chan wrinkled his eyebrows, moving on to another scar.

“This one?” He pointed to a more jagged one, that marred his left middle finger.

“I tried to teach myself knife flipping. It didn’t go so well, so Jeongin didn’t let me continue.” Woojin said and chuckled, fondly remembering the scolding he had gotten from his roommate when he had come home to find Woojin in the bathroom with a bleeding hand.

“What about that one?” Chan asked, pointing to Woojin’s left bicep. It was long and even, and had turned to yellowish white a long time ago.

“I got into a fight when I was fourteen, and the guy pushed me into a pile of trash, and there was a sharp piece of metal hidden there.” Chan pouted, leaning up to kiss the scar.

“That doesn’t sound fun.”

“You got stuck in a net full of metal scrap. I don’t think this is so bad compared to that.” Woojin pointed out, his hand cradling Chan’s cheek. The merman averted his eyes, one hand fiddling with his earrings.

“I’ll show you my scars one day, okay? Not yet, but some day.” Chan mumbled, and Woojin nodded and leaned in to kiss him.

It was soft, as things often were between them. Their hands were clasped, legs were tangled, chests were pressed together. It was a Sunday, which meant that the café was closed, and Jeongin had chosen to go over to Seungmin’s place for once. 

“You’re cute in my clothes baby.” Woojin cooed, leaning in for another kiss but getting interrupted by his phone ringing. He groaned, but reached out to the coffee table and grabbed his phone.

“Hi hyung.” Woojin put the phone on speaker and laid it on his chest, next to Chan’s head.

“Hi Jeongin. What’s up?” 

“Uh, Seungmin has invited Hyunjin to hang out with us but Felix got upset ‘cause he didn’t get invited so he’s heading over to our apartment right now.” Both Woojin and Chan raised their eyebrows in surprise.

“Why is he coming here?” Chan butted in.

“He said something about a Changbin? And apparently he doesn’t want to talk to, and I quote, ‘a literal baby’. I’m only one year younger than him! What nerve he has.” Woojin and Chan giggled at Jeongin’s irritation.

“We’ll take care of him, don’t worry. Get back to your crush now.” Woojin answered, smiling when he heard the younger mutter a quick ‘good bye hyung’ and hang up the phone before Woojin could answer.

”But I have to leave soon.” Chan frowned, plucking the phone from Woojin's chest and putting it on the coffee table. “And I won’t be able to be back until late.” He sat up, moving so he was straddling Woojin’s hips, leaning down to kiss him softly on the forehead.

“It’ll be fine babe. I’ve wanted to hang out with him one-on-one for a while.” Woojin reassured him, patting him on the thigh. He reached up to his cheek, caressing the soft skin with an equally soft smile. 

They leaned in, lips not connecting but their foreheads instead, breaths intermingling. Chan always smelled like the sea, a salty scent that lingered in his hair and on his skin. Woojin didn’t think he could feel happier. 

“**Chris!** ” Felix’s deep voice sounded from the hallway, followed a second after with his appearing in the doorway of the living room. He pouted at them, and then flopped down in the armchair. “ **Stop being gross and help me** _ . _” He grumbled, and Woojin stared at him.

“Why are you speaking English?” He asked, looking back and forth between the two mermen.

“Oh sorry, old habit. We usually speak English with each other.” Felix apologized, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“Wait, why?” Woojin asked, head cocked to the side in confusion.

“We grew up on Australia’s coast.” Chan explained as he stood up, smoothing out his t-shirt. “We moved when we were kids, since our parents wanted us closer to them.” Woojin sat up properly, stretching out his legs with a sigh.

“And you just forgot to tell me?” He said in an accusing tone, but the smile on his face was soft. Chan looked a little guilty, rubbing softly at the nape of his neck.

“I- Yeah. I did.” Felix snickered at that, ignoring his brother’s glare.

“He’s a bit dumb around you, Woojin, don’t worry.” Chan huffed, grabbing a pillow from the couch and beating Felix with it for his remark. Woojin laughed, grabbing another pillow and joining in, making the young merman screech and cover his face with his hand.

“Apologize to your brother!” Woojin shouted.

“Never! He’s an idiot!” Felix shouted back, and Chan gasped, dropping the pillow and attacking his brother with tickles. Felix screamed with laughter, voice going higher than Woojin had ever heard it go before.

“Atleast I’m not still pining over my crush like you are! When are you gonna fortify and ask him out!?” That made Woojin stop, pillow still in his hands as he looked at Chan in amused confusion.

“Fortify?” He laughed. Both Felix and Chan stopped in their motions to look at him.

“Yeah? What do humans say?” Chan asked.

“Well most people say man up, but I don’t really like that. Kinda sexist.” Felix looked as if he had just remembered hearing the phrase before, while Chan still looked confused.

“I’m not even gonna ask why, ‘cause if there is one thing I know is that I will never understand humans.” Chan said dramatically, and Felix and Woojin laughed.

“When did you have to leave, babe?” Woojin asked, slumping back down on the couch. Chan glanced at the clock.

“I should get going now so I’m not late. I love you.” The merman leaned down and kissed Woojin on the forehead, and ruffled Felix’s hair on his way out.

“I love you too!” Woojin shouted after him, and then they heard the door shut.

“Gay.” Felix said dryly, and Woojin smiled mischievously at him.

“Well I heard from Jeongin that you’re only here because you need love advice.” Felix blushed at Woojin’s words, and his hands came up to cover his face.

“I can’t talk with him about it, it’s too embarassing!”

“He’s been in a committed relationship for four years, I think he’s qualified.” Woojin retorted.

“But has he had a crush for three years without being able to confess?” Felix muttered behind his palms, and Woojin chuckled.

“Well, no, you got me there. Guess Hyunjin would be better to talk with in that case, with his whole ‘I’m crushing on two people who are dating’ situation.” That made Felix snort and sit up straight again.

“He’s really in deep isn’t he? I wonder when he’s gonna fortify and actually tell them.” Woojin shrugged.

“It’s not like they don’t know. They’ve both come to me and talked about it. They kinda like him too.” Felix looked at Woojin with wide eyes.

“But why hasn’t anyone said anything then? If they like him, and he likes them, and they know, why don’t they just get it over with?” Woojin laughed.

“Why haven’t you told your crush? Hyunjin told me Changbin thinks you’re cute.” He teased, and Felix went red in the face, fumbling with his sweater paws.

“I can’t. I’ve tried to! But everytime I just get flustered and can’t handle it!” 

“Tell me about him.” Felix looked up at Woojin in surprise, but his expression changed into a affectionate smile.

“Well, he’s a prince from another kingdom, and he’s currently staying at the castle for trade negotiations. We met when we were younger, and three years ago he showed up and he was just…” Felix sighed dreamily, and looked out the window. “He looked so different? But he looked really good, and I couldn’t stop staring at him. And he started being more affectionate, and it drives me crazy everytime. He’s really strong too, and I don’t know how to act around him. He’s pretty shy around new people but when you get to know him he just kind of blooms? He’s adorable.” Woojin smiled at the merman.

“Sounds like you’re in love.” Felix bit on his knuckle, but he couldn’t hide his smile.

“I guess I am.” He said, voice softer than before.

“It sounds a bit like how I was in high school. I was really infatuated with this guy, Minho, who was a year under me, and I confessed to him, and we dated for a while. We broke up when I graduated but we’re still friends.” He thought fondly about their two years together. He really should call him again, it had been a few months.

“But I don’t know how to do it! How did you do?” Felix asked as he moved from the armchair to the sofa. Woojin chuckled, stretching out his legs and resting them on the coffee table.

“I made sure we were good friends first, but I think you got that already. We made out at a party and that’s how he realised he liked me too.” Felix groaned and slid down further where he was sitting.

“So you’re saying I have to kiss him first?” 

“Well, it worked with Minho, and it worked with Chan.” Woojin grinned.

“But I don’t have an excuse for it! I can’t just swim up and kiss him!” Woojin pursed his lips in thought, and then clapped his hands together as an idea popped into his head.

“We can invite him here! Play spin the bottle, or truth or dare, something like that.” Felix looked at him with a glint in his eyes.

“That… That could work? But how should I invite him?”

“Can you do that shellphone thing? Call him and ask him if he wants to hang out with us sometime?” Felix nodded, and stood up.

“I don’t even need a shell to do that, just running water. Can I use the kitchen sink?” Woojin gestured for him to go ahead, and the merman left the room. He heard the water running for a few minutes, Felix mumbling, and then the tap being turned off. Felix poked his head into the living room and told Woojin to come into the kitchen with him to wait for a response.

“Do you want something to eat while we wait? Jeongin tried making ice cream yesterday and he would love some more opinions than just mine and Seungmin’s.” Felix agreed, and soon they were eating raspberry and lime ice cream, sitting on the balcony and enjoying the weather. They were interrupted by a weird sputtering from the tap, and Felix paused their conversation about blobfish to go in and take the message.

“He says he’s free tomorrow and the day after that, then he has to go back to his kingdom for a while. When do you think we could have this get together?” Woojin pulled out his phone, opening his calendar app.

“Tomorrow is probably best, since we close early on Sundays.”

“He wants to bring a friend too, is that okay? His best friend from his kingdom is visiting and wants to come along.”

“‘S all good, bring them. I’ll text Jeongin, and he can ask Hyunjin and Seungmin if they want to come too.” Felix sent another message via the water, a shorter one, and then returned to Woojin and his abandoned ice cream bowl.

“So, what were we talking about? Right, blobfish.”

When Woojin opened the door the following Sunday he wasn’t expecting to see three people standing outside his apartment, let alone that he would recognise two of them.

“Minho? Jisung? Oh my god!” He pulled the two men into a hug, which they both returned with laughter. When they broke away from Woojin they clasped their hands, and a smug smile came upon his face as he realised.

“Hyung, don’t-”

“You owe me ₩20,000! Both of you!” He shouted into the apartment, interrupting Minho, and a loud groan could be heard from Seungmin.

“You took bets on us? That’s rude hyung.” Jisung pouted, and Woojin ruffled his hair. They had both changed; Jisung’s cheeks were less chubby, and the t-shirt he was wearing exposed his toned arms. Minho had dyed his hair an orange colour, and had a lip piercing.

“Changbin!” Felix shouted, running past the three and towards the last person, who had stood quiet the entire time.

Changbin didn’t look like Woojin had expected him to. He was short, probably shorter than all of them, and had a steely expression. His nose was slightly hooked, like Woojin’s own, and he had a sharp jawline.

Felix latched onto him immediately, and the hug softened Changbin’s features.

“So this is Changbin then. Wait, where’s his best friend?” Woojin asked, and Jisung raised his hand with a sheepish expression.

“Wait, you know Jisung?” Felix asked, staring in confusion at the two.

“You’re a fucking merman? And you never told me?” Woojin ignored the freckled merman, grabbing Jisung and Minho by the shoulders. “And you’re fucking a merman?!” At that point everyone that were there already had gathered to look at the commotion, and Jeongin and Seungmin had recognised Jisung and Minho.

“What are you talking about hyung?” Jeongin asked, rocking forward on his crutches.

“Jisung is a merman too! And he never told us!”

“Oh, so telling your friends that you’re a secret merman is a normal conversation?” Jisung countered, and Hyunjin perked up.

“That’s what I told Seungmin!” Jisung seemed to finally take in everyone who was there, and his eyes widened comically.

“Wait, you know them too? Why haven’t you told me, I showed you pictures from high school!” 

“Jisung!” Hyunjin whined, hands covering his face.

“Hyunjin!” Seungmin whined nasally next to him, smacking him on the bicep. “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

“I wasn’t sure it was actually you! And then when I got to know you it would have been too awkward to tell you!” Hyunjin defended himself; Woojin made eye contact with Chan, and neither of them could hold back their giggles.

“How ‘bout we take this over drinks instead of out here?” The oldest merman piped up, and Jisung let out a breath of relief.

They did move it out to the living room, where Minho left his boyfriend to catch up with Woojin and get to know Chan. Jisung flopped down on the sofa, loudly chattering about Hyunjin being a compulsive liar, and said merman loudly protesting.

“You get on my ass about dating a merman, but here you are yourself hyung, with the prince nonetheless.” He said, small smile on his face as they sipped soju, sitting by the window. The younger men and mermen were arguing about how many secrets Hyunjin had. Jisung had wrapped himself around the taller merman, and Seungmin and Jeongin’s disappointment was obvious to everyone.

“How long have you known that he’s a merman?” Woojin countered, pointing with his glass at Jisung. Minho looked at his boyfriend with an unashamedly fond expression.

“He told me the summer you graduated, y’know when you went to kendo camp? He took me to the beach and he was really nervous, but he really wanted to tell me. I had figured out that something was different with him, but I would have guessed ADHD, not being Ariel’s cousin.” Chan let out a giggle at his word choice. 

“Imagine, he could have been a double A.” Woojin said. 

“Well he is. Just not with a developmental disorder.” Woojin leaned forward, interest piqued. Chan just looked between the two men in confusion. 

“What do you mean with double A?” Minho laughed, taking another sip from his glass.

“You really don’t get off the seafloor much, do you?” Chan looked slightly offended, but Minho spoke before he could. “When I say he’s a double A I mean he’s both asexual and aromantic, so two A’s.” The words made Jisung look up from his spot on Hyunjin’s lap.

“Are you talking about me baby?” He asked with wink, and Minho rolled his eyes.

“Just telling them you will never love me like Woojin did.” The room fell silent for a second, before Jisung laughed loudly, and the tension was gone as soon as it had appeared. He untangled himself from Hyunjin and went to sit on the armrest of the armchair Minho was sitting in, loping an arm around his shoulders.

“Ah, you jerk, you made me nervous for a second there! Don’t just say stuff like that!” Woojin kicked Minho in the shin, who promptly kicked back.

“Aromantic is a new term for me, so could someone explain what it means?” Chan put his hand up with the question, and Jisung smiled.

“I don’t fall in love. I don’t feel romantic love. Me and Minho are… Platonic life partners basically.” Chan nodded, eyebrows furrowed as if he was trying to puzzle it together in his head. Seungmin and Jeongin had similar expressions.

“Me and Woojin are romantic love.” He pointed to himself and Woojin. “You and Minho are platonic love.” He pointed to Jisung and Minho, and they both nodded.

“And Jeongin and Seungmin are puppy love, and Hyunjin, Changbin and Felix are idiot love.” Minho pointed at them in order, and everyone but the last three started laughing. Felix and Changbin looked at each other’s interlaced hands with pink dusted across their cheeks, and Hyunjin buried his face in his palms and groaned loudly. Woojin noted the way Jeongin and Seungmin looked at the tall merman while they were laughing, and he was half planning to lock them in the bathroom so they could finally talk it out with each other.

“Shut up.” Changbin grumbled, but the small smile tugging on his lips betrayed his dark image. Felix cooed at him, scooting closer so he could put his leg on his lap.

“When did you figure that out then Jisung hyung?” Seungmin piped up.

“Eh, I first started thinking about it maybe four or five years ago? Around when Jeongin got hospitalized for the first time.” Hyunjin looked worriedly at Jeongin, softly placing a hand on the younger’s thigh.

“Hospitalized?” Jeongin sighed, patting the merman’s hand.

“Yeah. That was when we first realised something was wrong with my legs. We’ve figured out something is wrong with my nervous system but nothing else.” He grasped Hyunjin’s hand, squeezing it reassuringly. “But I’m alright. I’ve got Woojin and Seungmin… And you.” He added the last part more quietly, a blush rising on his face, and the room erupted in whooping and cheers. Seungmin enveloped his boyfriend, hands over his own ears. 

Woojin leaned into Chan’s side, locking his ankle around the merman’s.

“Hey.” Chan whispered in his ear.

“Hi.” Woojin whispered back, pecking him on shoulder.

“Hey lovebirds, what are you whispering about?” Jisung poked them with his toes.

“Nothing, just being gross and in love.” Woojin teased, making Jisung stick his tongue out at him. Minho laughed, patting his boyfriend’s arm.

The conversation flowed to other, lighter topics, and Jeongin didn’t let go of Hyunjin’s hand. After a little bit Seungmin moved so he was sitting on the merman’s other side, grasping his other hand. Hyunjin seemed to short circuit, stumbling on every other word and blushing like mad.

“You should come swimming with us! It would be so fun.” Jeongin exclaimed, and Changbin furrowed his eyebrows.

“But can you swim?” Jeongin huffed.

“Like I told Chan, I’m better at swimming than walking. And I always bring someone!”

“He’s very fast with his floatie.” Hyunjin added, and Seungmin nodded enthusiastically. Changbin gave a small smile to the three.

“Then I would love to.” Seungmin flapped happily with his free hand, and Felix laughed with a fond smile on his face.

“We can bring Minho and Jisung too.” Minho perked up at his name.

“Not anytime soon, I just got my nipple pierced.” Woojin choked on his soju, wiping at his mouth as he coughed.

“You finally did it? I tried to convince you for years in high school!” Jisung laughed, reaching over to pat Woojin on the back.

“He lost a bet, otherwise he would never have done it.” He explained. “If he had won I would have a tongue piercing right now.” Woojin cocked his eyebrow with a smug smile.

“So he let you win then?” Everyone looked at him in confusion, Minho gesturing for him to keep speaking as he sipped from his glass. “He wouldn’t willingly give up blowjobs just like that.” Minho choked on his drink, and Jisung burst out laughing, so hard that he fell off the armchair. That caused the others to start howling, and Woojin leaned into his laughing prince, dodging the slaps aimed at his arm from Minho.

“Hyung!” Minho shouted.

“What? You literally told me that in high school, I doubt you’ve changed much.”

“Stop talking about your sex life hyung! It’s weird.” Jeongin complained, and Woojin gave him a mock-offended face.

“Excuse you, that’s my past sex life. If you want to talk about my current sex life-” He was interrupted by Seungmin shushing him with a finger over his lips.

“No one wants to know what old people do in bed!” Both Chan and Woojin gaped at Seungmin.

“We’re three years older than you!” Woojin exclaimed.

“Still! You’re like my older brother.” Seungmin countered.

“Okay but you’ve both seen me naked before-”

“Is that so special? So have me and Minho, and presumably Chan.” Jisung interrupted.

“Is that the same thing as having sex with said person?” Chan threw his arm around Woojin.

“I’d rather not hear about what my brother does in bed, thank you.” Felix chimed in, and Chan stuck out his tongue at him.

They moved on to other topics again, Woojin going out into the kitchen and bringing back more soju and popsicles for everyone. Chan kissed him on the cheek before grabbing a strawberry flavored one, and he happily continued talking with Minho about dancing.

“Hey Felix, can you help me in the kitchen for a sec’?” Woojin asked, and Felix looked at him in slight confusion before squeezing Changbin’s hand and following Woojin.

“What do you need help with?” Felix asked after closing the door behind him.

“Nothing actually, I just wanted to talk with you about Changbin.” The merman flushed at Woojin’s words, and he leaned back against the kitchen door.

“Should we really play a game? What if he doesn’t want to play?” Woojin jumped up on the counter, tilting his head in throught.

“He seems pretty smitten with you, so just flutter your eyelashes at him and he’ll do it.” Felix blushed, and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to hide it.

“I need to be about three drinks more drunk for that.”

“Then we will get you there.” Woojin promised, handing the merman a bottle of makgeolli, which he downed a third of in one go.

“Hey, are you done having your heart to heart? Chan wants his boyfriend back.” Hyunjin banged at the door, making Felix jump away from it with a yelp. Woojin laughed, grabbing more bottles of makgeolli and bringing them with him to the living room.

“Ah, finally. I thought he had stolen you from me forever.” Chan said when Woojin sat down next to him, throwing his arms around him and peppering his face with kisses.

“Nah, he’s too orange-blonde for me, I prefer mine kinda dumb and brunette.” Chan gasped, slapping him on the bicep, but melted when Woojin smiled brightly at him. The popsicles caused a slight lull in the conversation as they all started eating, but it soon picked up when Seungmin started arguing with Jeongin about biting the popsicle instead of licking it.

“So, these two are the reason that Hyunjin has been a mess lately? I’m surprised, I would have imagined you were more his type.” Minho leaned in as he spoke quietly to Woojin, and the latter rolled his eyes with a smile.

“We’ve been trying to get them to fortify and confess, but they’re all dancing around it.” Chan said, leaning forward and looking at the younger trio on the couch; all three had light blushes across their cheeks, and Seungmin and Jeongin kept sharing glances when Hyunjin was focused on something else.

“This might be the perfect opportunity to get them to ‘fess up then.” Jisung mused, taking another sip of soju.

Felix was whispering with Changbin, occasionally looking at the trio on the couch, and then they suddenly stood up, grabbing Hyunjin and pulling him into the kitchen.

“You’ll get him back soon!” Felix yelled before slamming the door, and then he spoke in Woojin’s head. “_ Talk to Jeongin and Seungmin about Hyunjin! _” Chan seemed to have heard it too, because he stood up and grabbed Seungmin by the hands. Woojin made eye contact with Minho, who caught on, and the younger man stood up too. Jeongin seemed to have realised his fate, because he shook his head and tried to get his crutches, but Minho had picked him up and slung him over his shoulder before he could reach them.

“You talk to Innie too, Jisung! We’ll take Seungminnie!” Woojin shouted as he also grabbed onto Seungmin, dragging him out into the hallway.

“Hyung!” Seungmin looked a little angry, and he hit both of them on the biceps.

“You need to talk with Hyunjin about it! Why haven’t you said anything to him yet?” Seungmin huffed at Woojin’s question, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall.

“What makes you think I haven’t tried?” Seungmin bit back, staring at the floor.

“When you first realised you liked Jeongin, I had to tell him because you couldn’t look him in the eyes without going semiverbal and bolting.” Woojin deadpanned, and the younger man mumbled something that sounded like ‘good point’.

“You really like him, both of you. And he likes you both too.” Chan said softly, but Seungmin just turned his head away more.

“If you’re worried about him not being able to handle you, remember that he’s already seen you nonverbal, and I promise you he would understand all the other things you go through.” Woojin added on, and his heart hurt when he saw the tears in the younger man’s eyes as he looked up.

“I don’t… I don’t want Yeong again, hyung.” Woojin opened his arms, and Seungmin rushed into his embrace, letting the soft sobs go.

“I promise you he wouldn’t do that, and if he did, I would break his arms.” Woojin said, and Chan looked both confused and terrified.

“_Yeong?_” Woojin mouthed ‘tell you later’ and the merman nodded.

They walked back in, sitting down on the couch with Seungmin sandwiched in between them. Chan sung softly to him, and Seungmin rocked his head back and forth while chewing softly on his middle finger. He was shaky, breaths shuddery as more tears spilled from his eyes. Small whimpers escaped from the back of his throat, and Woojin played with his hair, knowing it was soothing to him.

Both Hyunjin and Jeongin looked shocked when they came back in and saw Seungmin sitting on the couch, curled up and red eyed, chewing on his hand. Jeongin rushed forward, dropping down to his knees to check on his boyfriend, and Hyunjin was right behind him.

Jeongin gingerly laid his palms on Seungmin’s knees, and Hyunjin hesitated a second before kneeling next to them, his hand a firm presence on the youngest’s forearm. 

“Hey Minnie, do you want to go to bed? I can get your chewie for you.” Seungmin shook his head frantically, shoving another finger into his mouth and grasping at his jeans. He looked around at everyone in the room with fear and tears in his eyes.

Woojin looked to Jeongin, who had a determined expression on his face. 

“Do you need us to leave?” Woojin asked, and when Jeongin nodded he herded everyone out of the apartment, having to grab Hyunjin by the arm to get him out. They all sat down on the stairs, Hyunjin fiddling nervously with his bracelet and staring at the door.

“Will he be okay?” The tall merman asked Woojin, and the latter sighed.

“He will, he just needs to calm down. He doesn’t like having too many people around when he’s having a meltdown.” He explained, patting Hyunjin on the knee. Hyunjin nodded, leaning his head on Woojin’s shoulder and letting out a heavy sigh.

“I just want him to be okay.”

Jisung looked worried, but Minho had wrapped his arm around him and was stroking his hair to soothe him. Felix and Changbin were speaking in low voices, sides pressed up against each other. Chan leaned his head on Woojin’s shoulder, linking their pinkies together.

It was mostly quiet, and the door opened with a soft click.

“Woojin hyung? Chan? Can you come in here?” Came Jeongin’s quiet voice, and the two stood up immediately, Woojin patting Hyunjin on the shoulder before re-entering the apartment.

“What does he need?” Woojin asked as soon as Chan closed the door behind them, and Jeongin sighed, rubbing at his temple.

“He wants to be away from the others, but I can’t go on a walk with him right now. My knees are killing me.”

“I can do it. I could take him to the beach if he wants that?” Chan offered, and Jeongin looked close to crying of happiness.

“I’ll go get him. He’ll need help with his shoes.” Jeongin said before disapppearing into the apartment, but came back after a few minutes with Seungmin, who was wearing one of Woojin’s hoodies, clutching a teddy bear to his chest. He didn’t look anyone in the eyes, just nuzzled his face against his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Hey Seungmin, I’ll help you with your shoes, yeah? Just sit down on the bench here.” Chan guided the young man, who sat down with shaky legs. Woojin stood by silently as the merman laced up Seungmin’s shoes, his hand a comfort on Jeongin’s shoulder.

When Chan had finished he stood up, open hand an invitation to Seungmin; the younger instead turned to Woojin and tugged him closer. He brought their foreheads together and rubbed, and then did the same thing to Jeongin, who kissed his nose gently. He took Chan’s hand and let the merman lead him out of the apartment, waving to the others who stood up from the stairs when they saw him.

“What’s going on? Where is Chan taking him? Will he come back?” Hyunjin grilled Jeongin as soon as he stepped back into the apartment, and Jisung slung an arm around his waist in attempt to calm him down.

“They’re just going on a walk. They’ll be back when he’s feeling better.” Jeongin assured, leading the rest of them back into the living room. 

Felix looked guilty when he sat down, and Jeongin flopped down next to him, enveloping him in a hug.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have forced them to talk.” The freckled merman mumbled, and Jeongin tightened his grip around him.

“It’s okay, you didn’t know. You shouldn’t blame yourself.” Felix’s expression softened, and he snuggled closer to the young man. Woojin smiled to himself when he saw something like jealousy cross Changbin’s expression.

“We should play a game or something.” Jisung piped up, and Minho and Hyunjin voiced their agreement.

“Truth or dare?” Woojin suggested, and mentally fist pumped when everyone agreed.

They pushed the coffee table against the wall and sat down in a ring, and Woojin took Felix’s empty bottle of makgeolli and placed it on the floor.

“We’ll go youngest first, so Jeongin!” Felix said, and the man leaned forward and spun the bottle. It landed on Changbin, who grimaced.

“Truth or dare?”

It was chaotic, to say the least. Changbin had to swap shirts with Jisung for the rest of the night, and then he immediately got his revenge when the bottle landed on the youngest; he had to sing a children’s song at the top of his lungs on the balcony. Hyunjin chose truth, but the regret was visible on his face when Jeongin asked him to retell his first kiss.

“I… I’ve never had one.” He fiddled with his sleeve, pointedly looking away from Felix, who stared at his best friend.

“But you told me you did! Why did you lie?” The freckled merman asked, and the taller pouted.

“‘Cause I was embarassed! End of story.” Hyunjin blushed, grabbing the bottle and spinning it. It landed on Minho, who easily picked dare. Hyunjin dared him to give a lap dance to Jeongin, who looked completely mortified the entire time. And so they went on, the drinks going pumping through their systems making them bolder and louder as the game got more and more ridiculous. After a couple of rounds, Jeongin was sitting in Hyunjin’s lap, Jisung was wearing a dog collar that Jeongin had dug out from _ somewhere _ , Woojin had serenaded a blushing Changbin with _ I Will Always Love You _, Felix had chugged a bottle of makgeolli and Minho had taken a shot of fish sauce. He had grimaced and fake retched, earning himself laughter from the rest of the group. 

“That was fucking disgusting and I hate you.” He said with a glare against Felix, who just giggled and smiled. That smile faltered however, when the bottle landed on Changbin, and Minho leaned forward with a smug smile.

“Dare.” Changbin said before the man could ask him, looking into his eyes with a determined stare.

“Do seven minutes in heaven with Felix.” The freckled merman squeaked, but he didn’t protest when Woojin pulled him and Changbin up and lead them towards the hallway cupboard.

“Good luck, use protection.” He teased before pushing them in and closing the door.

“God, maybe we should leave and let them work things out.” Jisung piped up when Woojin came back in and sat down next to him.

“I do not want them to have sex in our cupboard, thank you very much hyung.” Jeongin said from his spot on Hyunjin’s lap, where he was scrolling absentmindedly through his phone.

“I didn’t mean that, and you know it.” Jisung answered, going to take a sip from his makgeolli before realising it was empty and setting it on the table. He laid down with his head in Woojin’s lap, who smiled and patted his head.

“Where did you get that collar from Jeongin?” Hyunjin asked, and the man sitting in his lap giggled.

“Seungmin bought it a few weeks ago and left it in his drawer. He loves wearing it when he stays over.” Minho chuckled.

“So he’s an actual puppy now?” He teased, leaning in closer to pinch the youngest’s cheek, who swatted his hand away.

“That’s cute.” Hyunjin mumbled, and then looked slightly panicked when he realised he had said it out loud. Minho cooed loudly, swooping in to pinch the merman’s cheeks, who protested loudly in turn.

Woojin heard the front door open, and when he looked up he saw Seungmin and Chan standing in the doorway to the living room, the latter with Seungmin’s shoes in one hand.

“The puppy has returned! C’mon, give your hyung snuggles.” Minho exclaimed, and Hyunjin let out a sigh of relief when the attention was turned away from him. 

Seungmin looked exhausted, and he didn’t speak as he curled up on Minho’s lap, leaning into the hand on his hair. Jeongin reached out a hand, and Seungmin grasped it with a soft sigh.

Chan sat down next to Woojin, immediately wrapping himself around him. 

“How did it go?” Woojin asked in a mumble, arm coming to rest around the merman’s broad shoulders.

“He ran around a tree for about three minutes before getting dizzy and falling over, but other than that he’s been great. It still amazes me how polite he can be, even when he can’t speak.” Woojin giggled and nodded.

“They got two minutes left, what do you think they’re doing in there?” Jisung wondered loudly.

“None of your business!” Came Felix’s deep voice from the hallway; he seemed out of breath, and Chan laughed.

“Oh they’ve been making out, definitely.” The merman said quietly, and then raised his voice as he shouted back. “_If you want to continue snogging him you need to come out of the closet!_” Woojin knew enough English to know what Chan was saying, and so did Seungmin, who let out a small snicker at the pun.

“You already know I’m gay as hell!” The entire room laughed, and soon Felix and Changbin stepped in again, hands intertwined and lips red. Jisung and Hyunjin whopped, and Felix gladly accepted the high five from the former. Changbin blushed, a small smile grazing his plush mouth.

“Glad you finally admitted it bro!” Jisung shouted, and Woojin cringed at their proximity.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re all a bunch of kweers anyway, I figured that out the first time I saw Woojin.” Minho piped up, and the mentioned man looked at him in confusion.

“Before I told you that I’m trans? Dude, I looked like the straightest girl ever!” Minho looked at him with an eyebrow raised.

“You have never in your life owned a normal bra, and I don’t think you ever even tried heels.” He deadpanned, and Woojin opened his mouth to argue, but realised the younger man was right.

“You got me there.” Minho giggled, and when Woojin looked down he could see Jisung staring fondly at his partner.

They didn’t play any more truth or dare after that, and soon most of them had to leave. Minho promised he would come visit the café, and Jisung assured Jeongin he would tag along. Changbin gave all of them shy hugs, before returning to Felix’s side. Hyunjin lingered in the living room, a soft smile a constant on his face as he talked with the two youngest men.

“Hey, can we talk on the balcony?” Chan asked, and Woojin nodded with a smile, following him through the kitchen. The breeze was slightly chilly, and Woojin wrapped himself around Chan, as he was only wearing a thin t-shirt.

“It’s been a great night, hasn’t it?” Chan hummed in agreement, leaning into Woojin’s chest.

“Hey, you know when you joked about you getting a tail? Well, don’t get your hopes up, but Changbin and Felix have been doing some trials and they might have come up with something like that.” Woojin gasped, grabbing Chan by the shoulders and turning him around.

“Are you serious? Oh my God, Chan!” He hugged him hard, and the merman reciprocated it with equal amounts of vigor.

“They just need to test it on an actual human, but it’s worked great on merfolks in human transformation, so they’re hopeful.” Woojin couldn’t help the excitement buzzing through his veins, and he pulled away only slightly to catch Chan’s lips in a passionate kiss. The merman was surprised, but responded in turn, and when they broke away they were both out of breath, lips red and shiny.

“Oh my god, thank you Chan.” Woojin mumbled, and Chan barely had time to mumble back a ‘you’re welcome?’ before they were kissing again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mwah

**Author's Note:**

> im on nsfw twt!  
[my twitter!](https://twitter.com/toothywoochan)  
[my curiouscat!](https://curiouscat.me/toothywoochan)


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